Innocence
by DeathsAngel8815
Summary: Years ago, Hatori Sohma had a secret relationship that ended in separation after being discovered. What Hatori doesn't know is two people actually left that day. **Currently being rewritten. As of 7/26/13, Chapter 1 edited**
1. Snow Child

Hey everyone! I wrote this story a few years ago and never finished it. I have decided to get on with it and continue. First, I am going to go through and edit all the chapters I have written already. There may be some chapters that end up completely different, but I will try not to change too much. I believe that my writing style has changed in the past few years and I will do my best to bring you a great story. I'll be starting with the first chapter and will let you know in a note if the chapter has been edited. Hope you like this version as much as the first. Enjoy!

I'm also thinking about changing the title, any suggestions?

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruit's Basket but I do own Yukiko and Kyouni.

**Innocence  
Prologue  
Snow Child**

"Yukiko, you need to go find your father in Japan. You can't stay here with my relatives. They just don't understand," said a woman about thirty years old with glistening blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She was lying on a hospital bed holding a young girl's hand.

The young girl looked to be about fifteen and had waist length dark green hair and silver eyes with a darker silver pupil. She had pale skin and wasn't very tall for her age.

"Yes mother," said the girl in reply with a soft voice. She had tears in her soulful metallic eyes.

"Good. It's about time for me to go. I love you, sweetie," said Kyouni taking her last loving look at her young daughter.

"I know," replied the girl, starting to panic as the beeps of the heart machine slowed down. She watched her mother take her last breath before kissing her forehead and closing her eyes. The young girl took one last look at her newly deceased mother, before running out the door and scrambling down the hallway.

The nurses tried to stop her but she was small and could run faster. Just as she turned down another hallway, she tripped over her own feet sending her gliding to the floor. She reassembled herself before running again, ignoring the pain on her knees as well as in her heart.

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Please let me know what you think of the story as I edit and update it. I appreciate positive reviews, as well as constructive criticism.

-Jess


	2. Sohma Discovered

Hello loyal followers! Here's the updated first chapter of my story. I'll make a new post after I update all the chapters and before I start the continuation of the story. Just a question though, should I continue following the story line? I was going by the anime, but if I want to continue past it maybe I should follow the manga. I'm not sure, so any feedback would be awesome. I'll keep this chapter mostly the same until I make a decision. I feast upon the support you guys provide for me in the form of reviews. Thanks to everyone who follows and reviews. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket, but I do own Yukiko.

* * *

**Innocence  
Chapter 1  
Sohma Discovered**

"Hey, check it out! That guy over there is like, unbelievably hot!" said an unknown teenage girl about Hatsuharu Sohma.

"Yeah! I wonder what he's got going on?" replied the other girl. "He looks like he's on his way to a rave or something…"

"You're right. He looks like a total club kid," added the first girl.

"Let's go talk to him! A cool guy like that? I'll bet we can have some fun!" said the second girl before seeing the figure moving towards the guy. Hatsuharu gets onto his bike, when from beside him he hears a little cough. Looking down, he sees a young girl. She looks up from her map and puts it back in her oversized backpack.

"Yes?" he asked the unknown girl staring at him continuously.

"Um… Do you know a Hatori Sohma?" asked the obviously shy girl.

"Yea sure, I live near him. I'm his cousin actually. Listen, I have some stuff I have to do first, but if you want you can either hang out with me or I can meet up with you somewhere," he said now suspicious of how she knows Hatori.

"If it's alright, I have nowhere to be," she trailed off not wanting to look desperate.

"It's fine, just get on and let's go," said Haru. The girl looked uneasily at him then the bike.

"Um… Where shall I get on?" asked the girl.

"In the basket is fine. Come on, we'll get to know each other on the way," said Haru watching her sit inside the basket. "So, what's your name?"

Haru and the girl, now known as Yukiko, were sitting on a slope near a bridge talking.

"So, you need to find Hatori because he's supposedly your father? And you were living with your mom in Europe? Well that sure explains your accent," remarked Haru stunned at what she was telling him. The girl looked down nervously before replying.

"Yes, it was a secret and he wasn't able to find out before my mother had to leave. I've waited all my life to meet my father, and now that my mom is gone, I have nowhere to go," said the girl fiddling with a piece of grass.

"Don't worry, I'll get you to Hatori," said Haru before they heard someone coming down the hill.

"Sir! What's wrong?" asked an older girl of average height. She obviously didn't see the younger girl sitting on Haru's right side. "I'm sorry! I just thought, well, your hair is so white, I thought you were an old man that had fallen down or something. I mean, not that you look like an old man…," said the girl trying to cover up her mistake. She then noticed a small green haired girl pop her head out from behind Haru trying not to laugh.

"Have you ever heard of a place called Sohma House?" asked Haru glaring slightly at Yukiko who was covering her giggles with her hand.

"Eh, Sohma House? So then… by any chance, are you a Sohma? Maybe?" asked the strange girl sitting down on Haru's left. The younger girl leaned forward over Haru to get a better look at the girl.

"That's right. Oh, and Yukiko here is a newly found Sohma also," replied Haru as Yukiko grinned and laid her head down on Haru's outstretched legs.

"Oh?" she said finally looking at the girl. Yukiko looked to be about twelve and had waist length green hair and sparkling silver eyes. "So do you go to the grade school?"

"Umm… No I'm fourteen," said Yukiko looking at her like she was crazy.

"OH! I'm sorry. I just thought, you're so little…," she replied, trailing off.

"So you know it then?" asked Haru while patting Yukiko's head.

"Oh, y-yes! I'm, um, I'm pleased to meet you! I'm Tohru… Uh?" stated Tohru nervously bowing. "What is it?" she wondered seeing Haru and Yukiko get up off the ground.

"He's coming," replied Haru tying a rope to the rail on the other side of the street.

"Um… What are you doing?" questioned Tohru as Haru went back over by Yukiko and gave her part of the rope. She understood what he was trying to do and got as low to the ground as possible. Haru grunted in response before getting ready for Kyo and Yuki who were running their way past. As Kyo started to speed up, Haru pulled the rope tight, with Yukiko following him, and tripped Kyo.

"Got him," said Haru as he looked at Yukiko trying to hold back giggles.

"Kyo! Are you hurt!" asked Tohru running over to the fallen cat with Yuki following.

"What the hell are you doing? Damn it! I was winning and everything!" Kyo screamed at Tohru. Haru and Yukiko stood up as Yuki's eyes wandered over to Yukiko.

"If I hadn't of tripped you, you wouldn't have stopped, now would you," said Haru as the others looked on confused.

"Haru?" wondered Kyo at seeing the cow. Haru turned toward Yukiko.

"By the way, what I did was very dangerous… And if that had been anyone other than Kyo, they'd probably had been hurt pretty badly. Don't ever do it again," Haru told Yukiko already taking the position of an over-protective brother. Yukiko looked at Kyo, then Haru and nodded.

"You shouldn't have done it now! Who are you even talking to?" asked Kyo oblivious to Yukiko's presence.

"So, now it's Haru. They just keep showing up don't they," said Yuki at Haru's appearance. "Shouldn't you be at school?"

"Yeah… Well, I actually left on Sunday with the intention of coming here, but I was swept away into the heart of a dark, urban wilderness. It took me three days to find my way out," said Haru.

"Why don't you just say you got lost?" asked Yuki sweat dropping.

"Well, I happened to meet up with sweet Yukiko here and I promised I'd take her to see Hatori," explained Haru grabbing onto a surprised Yukiko and pulling her in front of him.

"Why does she need to see Hatori?" asked Yuki ignoring Kyo and Tohru talking.

"Well, you see…" Haru tried to answer but Yukiko held her hand over his mouth stopping him.

"I'd rather Hatori find out first," she explained seeing his confused expression.

"He's over at Shigure's. You can come over if you'd like," said Yuki now even more curious of Yukiko.

"Um… Hey… Do you think we should move somewhere off the road?" asked Tohru watching the other runners.

"Hmm… That might be wise. Oh... This is Hatsuharu. He's still in his third year of middle school, one year behind us. Haru, this is Miss Tohru Honda," said Yuki introducing the two.

"Well then, Miss Tohru Honda, it is a pleasure to meet you," said Haru bowing to Tohru.

"Oh, no! The pleasure's all mine! Really!" said Tohru mimicking Haru's actions. After, Haru took Yukiko's hand and showed her off to the rest.

"And this is the lovely Yukiko. Yukiko, this is Yuki and Kyo Sohma," said Haru pointing to them respectively. She bowed and said hello to each of them.

"So what did you come here for, anyway?" questioned Kyo once they were under the bridge.

"To fight," replied Haru placing Yukiko next to Yuki. "I was planning to challenge you at the New Year's banquet, but you decided to skip… So I've come to you. Now, let's do it."

"H-Hold on a minute! I'm right in the middle of something here, in case you hadn't noticed," replied Kyo as Haru grabbed his shirt. Sensing a fight, Yuki turned to Yukiko and asked her about why she wanted to see Hatori.

"Well, I wanted to wait to tell him myself, but I guess if you know where he is then I can tell you. You see, my mom told me that before I was born, she had a relationship with Hatori when they were sixteen. They were discovered though and Akito, I think that's who it was, didn't want them together. He forced Hatori to erase my mom's memories but Hatori couldn't do it. So he told her to leave and she did but then she was pregnant with me. Hatori didn't know and still doesn't," explained Yukiko.

"Hatori? A father? Hmm… Where did you come from Yukiko? You have a different accent then around here," said Yuki blown away from the new information.

"Um… I came here from Europe, England to be exact," replied Yukiko looking over at the two yelling. All of a sudden, Haru bangs Kyo with his head and his hair turns darker. Taking a few steps forward to see what was wrong, Yukiko felt Yuki grab her wrist to stop her.

"Ha! You're not a man. You're a little kitty-cat, too scared to fight," said Haru in his black form. Scared, Yukiko takes a few tentative steps back right into Yuki. Yuki just grabs her shoulders and holds her out of the way. As they were fighting, Yuki took the chance to explain what happened to Haru.

"Haru's pretty easy to get along with, but once he snaps, he's uncontrollable… That's our nickname for him when he's like this: Black Haru," explained Yuki. Yukiko missed what Tohru asked since she watched Haru walk over to them.

"Not at all," Yuki got out before Haru pushed him against the wall. Yukiko felt squished between the two as Yuki had put his arms round her to protect her. "I'm saying he's a thousand times worse."

"Yuki, are you comfortable? Enjoying the show? Hope so, cause I'm coming for you next," said Haru as he held onto Yuki's chin. "And you too," he added seeing Yukiko and kissing her on the cheek, and staying there for longer than necessary.

"Oh is that a fact," said Yuki holding Yukiko a little tighter. Yukiko's eyes were swirling as the boys continued to fight. Her mind couldn't keep up with anything as Yuki's arms were tight around her and her cheek was warm from where Haru's lips just were.

"You know, this could go on for hours. You really don't have to stay," said Yuki to Tohru. Yukiko vaguely heard Tohru respond to him in stutters.

"But shouldn't we… at least try to stop them?" Yukiko heard Tohru ask and couldn't help but agree at seeing Kyo and Haru still fighting.

* * *

That's the update for Chapter 1. I didn't change much in it because I'm not quite sure how much I want the story to change from its original plan. Let me know what you guys think! Thanks again to my reviewers and followers. You guys are awesome and make me want to keep this story going. Also, this doc manager does not want to work with me and the format I use in word after copying, so hopefully it doesn't look too bad. I try not to make a lot of mistakes, but sometimes they slip through.

-Jess


	3. Child Found

Thanks to my reviewers vanakuvixen and hatorifan from the first chapters. Okay, I wasn't sure about the name but I'll keep it. Here's Chapter 2! Hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruit's Basket but I do own Yukiko.

Innocence  
Chapter 2  
Child Found

"Come on, what's the matter? Hit me!" screamed Haru at Kyo as they were fighting.

"What fight are you watching? You haven't landed a single punch yet! You hit me!" yelled Kyo back at Haru.

"You got it," said Haru as he tried to kick Kyo. They continued to fight as Yuki, Yukiko, and Tohru watched from the sidelines. Yuki had Yukiko still in his arms from earlier when Haru kissed her on the cheek. He didn't want her to try to stop the two as she might get hurt. Yukiko continued to watch them with a dazed expression. With the commotion from the fight, they didn't realize the problem right in front of their eyes.

Yuki realized something suddenly and with huge eyes, he looked down at the shocked Yukiko. He was holding Yukiko in his arms, not hugging, but it was usually enough to make him transform. He drew her closer to see if there was something wrong or not but when he still didn't transform, he knew this was serious. He decided to wait until later to look into the situation.

Yukiko, who was oblivious to everything at the moment, didn't notice anything wrong. She heard Tohru and Yuki talking about Haru and Kyo but she was floored when she felt Yuki let go of her. After hearing a thud, she turned around to see Yuki kneeling on the ground trying to breathe.

"Yuki?" asked Tohru seeing him fall during their conversation. Yukiko bent down towards Yuki and tried to see what was wrong. She heard Tohru call out again while Haru and Kyo ran over to Yuki.

"Is it an asthma attack?" asked Haru putting his hands on Yukiko's shoulders to look at Yuki.

"And he has a fever," commented Yukiko after testing his forehead with hers.

"You know you're not supposed to overdo it when you're sick," Haru told Yuki as Yukiko moved over to let him check Yuki. "Just lie here for now. Go call the main house, and hurry! – huh?" Yuki had grabbed onto Haru's pants to stop him from getting the main house. Tohru ran up to Yuki as he started to cough again. Haru grabbed Yukiko away from Yuki and Tohru at seeing her worried look.

"You don't want the main house, huh?" asked Haru understanding what Yuki was wanting. "Kyo, you don't mind if we finish our fight later… do you?"

"Uh-uh…" replied Kyo looking over to Haru.

"We need to get him back to Shigure's somehow," said Haru as Yukiko's mind wandered.

'Shigure's? Wasn't that where they said my father was?' thought Yukiko somewhat delighted at the thought of meeting her father so soon.

"I'd say we could take a taxi, but I don't know. It'll be a real pain if he transforms in the back seat," explained Haru before Tohru shot up.

"But we have to do something! I'll do anything!" said Tohru. Haru looked over to Yukiko like he was deciding something.

"Okay… Maybe there is something we can do…" Haru said turning and going over to Yukiko. "It's lucky for me she's so cute… I mean, if I'm gonna do it, it should be with someone cute, right?" questioned Haru at Yukiko and Tohru's confused looks. Haru laughs right before grabbing Yukiko expecting his transformation. After a few seconds of no poofing sounds, Haru pulled back to see a blushing Yukiko as he was still in his normal body.

"What the - ? Why didn't I transform?" wondered Haru before coming back to the problem at hand with Yuki's coughing. "Okay, seeing this isn't gonna work. I'll just have to hug Tohru for now." Haru let go of Yukiko and walked over to Tohru before hugging her and transforming into his cow form. Kyo looked over at Yukiko confused, while she was astonished at what just happened.

"Hold on to the back of my neck, so I don't change back," said Haru as a cow. "It'll be easier on Yuki if we carry him like this." After Kyo and Tohru set Yuki on Haru's back, they started walking towards Shigure's house. Noticing that Yukiko wasn't following, Kyo walked back and grabbed the stunned girl's arm before pulling her along.

"Come on you!" said Kyo catching up to the others.

--

"So, you came all the way here looking like that, did you?" questioned the laughing Shigure. They had gathered at Shigure's house with Yuki still on Haru's back and Yukiko behind Kyo holding onto the back of his shirt. Yukiko was really shy around people she hadn't been introduced to and she had no idea who this person was. She stuck around Kyo as she hadn't had much interaction with Tohru, Haru was transformed, and Yuki was sick. Yukiko decided that Kyo was a safe bet and hid behind him. The other reason she was scared was because her father was somewhere in the house and she was frightened to meet him even though she was excited earlier.

"It's not funny," said Kyo as Shigure tried hard to cover his laughs with his hand. Shigure helped bring Yuki to his room and everyone wanted to know what happened.

"There. We'll let him sleep for a while. Looks like it was just a mild attack. He still has a slight fever, but he'll be all right," explained Shigure sitting on Yuki's bed after lying Yuki down.

"Thank goodness," exclaimed Tohru relieved.

"Sorry for the scare, Tohru. But it's really okay. You can go back to school now, if you want," said Shigure.

"Oh, no – I mean, school is important, but I just wouldn't feel right going back when I know that he's lying here sick… I'm sure mom will understand if I miss a day," said Tohru. "And besides – I feel a little bit responsible… I should have asked him to stay home today. His cold might not have gotten this bad."

"I'll tell you what. How about I go to the school and pick up your things for you," said Shigure standing up from the bed.

"You really don't have to go to all that trouble…," said Tohru not wanting him to worry about her.

"No, no. No trouble at all… But when I get back, I would like to be introduced to that pretty little thing that's currently hiding behind Kyo," said Shigure taking a peak behind Kyo's back. Yukiko's eyes widened when she noticed that Shigure knew about her the whole time. "In the meantime, Kyo, why don't you call Hatori? He was here earlier but he had to leave."

"Huh? Why do I gotta do it?" asked Kyo. He was ready to walk out of the room since Shigure already knew about Yukiko. He had only stayed to make Yukiko feel more comfortable since she decided on hiding herself.

"Watch yourself, though. Hatori's a bit overworked these days, so he's probably not in the best of moods…" said Shigure. He had seen the resemblance between Hatori and Yukiko and couldn't help but think of the possibilities. "From what I hear, practically the entire family has come down with the flu…,"

"I'll call him," said Haru as he changed back scaring Tohru. "Where's the phone again?"

"Dammit! Put some clothes on first!" Kyo screamed as he covered Yukiko's eyes from the repercussions of the transformation. He wasn't worried about Tohru as she already knew what would happen, and she already turned around.

"Well, I'm off. Take good care of Yuki while I'm gone. And don't let that lovely girl leave. I haven't introduced myself yet," said Shigure leaving the house.

"Okay, and thank you so much!" replied Tohru.

--

"Mm-hm. I understand… R-Right," said Haru talking on the phone. Kyo was sitting on the floor right next to Haru and Yukiko was standing on his other side.

"So what's Hatori got to say?" asked Kyo when Haru put down the phone.

"H-Hatori?" questioned Yukiko noticing her father's name.

"Yes, your father. He's the family doctor. He sounded mad at me, for some reason… Strange, huh?" asked Haru.

"That's what happens when you disappear for three days," explained Kyo to the oblivious white Haru. "So, what now? I guess we got that damn rat taken care of…," said Kyo standing up. "You ready to finish our fight?"

"Nah, forget it…" said Haru looking at the wide eyed Yukiko. "You really have gotten stronger, Kyo. I think I need more training."

"Hold it right there!" exclaimed Kyo as Haru started to walk away. Tohru walked into the room noticing Haru in a headlock courtesy of Kyo. "You think you can pick a fight and then just walk away whenever you feel like it! Huh! Just cause you changed back to White Haru doesn't mean you get-"

"So… You're not Black Haru anymore?" interrupted Tohru.

"Uh… No," replied Haru.

"I'm sorry… It's just, you seem like a completely different person…," Tohru trailed off.

"How's Yuki?" Haru questioned still in the headlock.

"He's still sleeping," Tohru said.

"Don't attack him while he's passed out, Kyo," said Haru.

"Shut up! What good does it do me if I beat him with a cheap trick like that! The day I knock that damn rat on his tail it's gonna be fair and square! Ugh, hell with it. I'm going back to school," said Kyo walking out the door.

--

"Yuki and Kyo, do they still get in fist fights every day?" Haru asked Tohru while they were in the kitchen. Tohru was in the kitchen getting an ice pack for Yuki.

"No, but they argue just about every time they see each other…" Tohru explained filling the bag with ice.

"Yukiko, why don't you go check on Yuki for me?" questioned Haru gently pushing the girl out of the room. She walked up the stairs still hearing part of their conversation.

"Huh. Well that means they're getting along a little better, at least…" Haru had said before Yukiko couldn't hear anymore. She reached Yuki's room and walked in to see him still sleeping. She dragged a chair over beside the bed to sit in. She put her hand on Yuki's forehead to see if his fever went down at all. Sitting back, she let her mind wander to what would happen to her once her father got here. After a while, she heard Haru's voice outside the door. She listened for a while, just watching Yuki as he slept.

"After that, I began to lose my temper less and less. Yuki had finally allowed me to vent the anger that had filled me up for so long. It felt as though my heart had suddenly been set free. I was completely surprised. In every possible way, Yuki was different from the person I'd imagined him to be… It's true. Until that point, it had never occurred to me he could be anything other than the mean rat," Haru finished as he came up to the bed standing beside Yukiko sitting in the chair.

"And to think… If I hadn't med him that day… The mean rat is probably all I'd see, even now," Haru added. "Then I would really be a fool."

"That's a wonderful story," said Tohru standing behind Yukiko.

"I was surprised today, too. Seeing Yuki next to you, with that little smile on his face. And protecting Yukiko, here, in his arms when he'd only just met her. That was a first for me. He never smiled like that when he lived at the main house. That's why I was thinking, maybe it's your influence that's helped him to soften up a bit. And it might be sweet Yukiko's innocent dazed look all the time," replied Haru looking over at Yukiko watching him with a soft smile. Yukiko heard Tohru babbling something then Haru whispered for Tohru to do something into her ear. Yuki began to wake up and a huge smile spread across her face.

Yuki woke up to see Yukiko smiling in a chair next to him. Tohru was behind her and Haru was standing at the end of the bed.

"Miss Honda? Yukiko?" wondered Yuki rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Hi. Welcome back," Tohru said while Yukiko just gave him a huge smile, her eyes lighting up.

"I'm glad to see your better," said Yukiko grabbing his hand.

"That's right! I was-" Yuki exclaimed sitting up in his bed. "I hope I wasn't any trouble…,"

"No, it's all right…," Tohru reassured.

"But how… how did I get here?" questioned Yuki trying to think of what happened.

"Hatsuharu transformed and carried you on his back…," explained Tohru.

"Well, thank you… It must have been a sight," Yuki said looking over to Haru.

"No… I didn't mind at all. You were asleep by the time we got home. And since then, I've been telling Tohru the story about why I like you…," said Haru as Yukiko eyes grew wondering what he meant by that.

"What, is that the only thing you could think of to talk about?" asked Yuki as he grew frustrated at Haru. "I at least hope you didn't bore her with too many details…"

"She seemed interested…," Haru tried to explain but trailed off unsure.

"It's okay. It was a very nice story… 'Prince' Yuki…," added Tohru seeing a growing fight. Yuki looked over at Tohru surprised, and then transformed into his rat form.

"Mister Yuki!" Yukiko exclaimed seeing the now rat Yuki lying on the bed. She got off the chair and leaned by the bed picking up the rat with her small hands. She heard Tohru get upset and sit on the floor crying.

--

Later on that night, Hatori came over to check on Kyo and Shigure who had fallen ill when they returned home.

Yukiko didn't know whether to go downstairs and see him, or to stay with Yuki where it was safe. After thinking this might be her only chance for a while, she trudged down the stairs quietly to catch a peak at her father. She saw Kyo and Shigure lying on pallets on the floor with Tohru and Haru at their heads. She looked further into the room and saw a tall man with dark bluish-green hair and green eyes. His bangs covered one of his eyes and he was wearing a doctor's coat. She knew once she saw him that this man was her father, Hatori.

"That's what happens when you sit out in the freezing air for hours, playing old maid…" Yukiko heard Haru say to the sick Kyo and Shigure. The man turned hearing her coming down the stairs. His eyes widened at the sight of a young girl that he didn't know. Haru looked over to see what had caught Hatori's attention when he noticed Yukiko peaking into the room. He smiled over at Hatori then beckoned Yukiko into the room. Taking little steps into the room, Yukiko walked over in front of Hatori and looked down at her small, bare feet.

"Hatori, I'd like you to meet Yukiko," Haru said then a wicked smile spread across his face at his next thought. "Yukiko Sohma." Haru watched as Yukiko quickly to him with betrayal on her pretty face. He felt guilty for spilling her secret for a minute, but he realized it was for good that she told him now.

Hatori looked in disbelief at the girl that Haru called a Sohma. He had never seen this girl before and he knew every Sohma. This little slip of a girl had suspiciously the same color hair as him only longer. He couldn't see her eyes as her head was down. He tilted her chin up and gasped as her eyes came into view. They were a bright silver color unlike his own green eyes. Her eyes were shaped like his however and she had a face similar to Momiji's own sweet one. The pupils of her eyes were shaped in his own unusual nature. He could see resemblances of himself in this child but he couldn't be sure.

"Who are you?" asked Hatori wondering why Haru called her a Sohma.

"Um… I'm Yukiko," said Yukiko with nothing better to say to the man she just met as her father. Seeing that Yukiko wasn't going to tell Hatori, Haru took the chance to get it off the girl's chest.

"She's your daughter!" exclaimed Haru not even looking at Yukiko for seeing the glare she was giving him.

"What!" the usually calm Hatori yelled looking at the young girl wondering if he was imagining things.

--

Well, now Hatori knows who she is and she's finally met him. I can't wait to write the next chapter. We'll find out what Hatori thinks of Yukiko and what they plan to do with her now that she has no where else to go. Thanks for reviewing guys. Next chapter should be out maybe tomorrow or the next day. Please review, it makes me the happiest person in the world.

Love, Archer


	4. Hatori's Gift

Hmm… this story isn't getting that many reviews. If you're reading it, please review and let me know what you think. If nobody reviews, it makes me think that nobody likes it and then I won't want to write more chapters. So please help me out here. Okay, well here's chapter 3. Hope you like it.

Thanks purejoy for reviewing. I think that Hatori might show up again in the next chapter sometime and they will have more interaction there.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruit's Basket but I do own Yukiko.

Innocence  
Chapter 3  
Hatori's Gift

"Um… Yea, Hatori, she's your daughter," said Haru laughing nervously at the shocked doctor's expression. Yukiko was looking unbelievingly at Haru's nerve to tell her father without asking her.

"But I don't have… a… daugh-," Hatori trailed off finally understanding the similarities between him and Yukiko. He racked his brain through his memories trying to find out how this could have happened. Then it hit him, Kyouni! She was the only one who could have possibly had a child. He could see the likeness in Yukiko, but if she looked her age, then he couldn't possibly be the father.

"How old are you?" asked Hatori. Yukiko looked up at him in confusion before answering.

"I'm fourteen," she replied. That was the exact amount of years it has been since Hatori last saw Kyouni. Hatori could also tell from her British accent that she probably was in Europe for a long time. "Um… My mum's name was Kyouni if that helps any."

Hatori just couldn't believe it. There was no way he had a daughter. He wasn't fit for one and he didn't think he ever would be. Hatori then noticed Shigure sitting up and looking at Yukiko with a bemused expression.

"So it's true then. I mean, you looked enough like him, I just wasn't sure if you were actually related," Shigure said as he smiled at the bashful Yukiko.

"Well, what's gonna happen to her now?" questioned Haru tired of the confused faces.

"Where is your mom now?" Hatori questioned Yukiko wondering why she was here and not with her mom.

"Um… she passed away a couple days ago," said Yukiko, tears building up in her eyes. Hatori's eyes widened at the statement. How could she do this to him? Leave him without knowing about his daughter, then she dies and Yukiko suddenly shows up with nowhere else to go. He had no idea what to do with this situation.

"Hatori, why don't we go talk about this some in the kitchen?" said Shigure getting up and walking towards the kitchen. Hatori took one last look at Yukiko then managed to follow Shigure. Haru walked over to Yukiko and put his hand on her shoulder. Tohru had left earlier to go check on Yuki leaving the five alone in the room. Kyo was still passed out sick lying on the floor.

"Don't worry, they'll let you stay. They wouldn't kick a Sohma out on the street, especially since you're Hatori's daughter," Haru assured. Yukiko just looked at him and gave him a small smile letting him know she appreciated his comment. After a while in the silent room, Shigure and Hatori came back and sat down in front of Yukiko.

"Well, sweet Yukiko, we have decided that it's best for you to stay here at my house," said Shigure. "We figured that if we wanted to keep you a secret from Akito, that would be best accomplished with you here. Hatori will go tomorrow and have you signed up at the school that the rest go to. You'll be set in his grade so you'll have someone you know there already." Yukiko nodded at this information and looked over at her father.

"If you want, I can come over here nightly and we can talk…," trailed Hatori looking completely unused to the idea of a daughter.

"I would like that," replied Yukiko giving Hatori one of her soft smiles.

"Then it's settled. You'll stay here, since school is almost over, and when summer break is over you'll go with Tohru, Yuki, and Kyo to the high school. You can meet up with Haru there and you'll be in the same classes. Does that sound okay to you?" questioned Shigure after his explanation.

"Yes, I'm just happy to stay here," said Yukiko, bothered a little by the fact that she had to be hidden from Akito, but these people seemed nice enough.

--

Later on that night, Yukiko was in her makeshift room unpacking her bag. They had found a room in the house for her and Tohru offered to help her clean it up. Shigure went back to bed to rest after Hatori had left back to the main house bringing Haru with him. Kyo and Yuki were still resting from being sick and that left Tohru and Yukiko working on her room. Her new room was placed beside Yuki's and across from Tohru's.

Finished with putting her clothes away, Yukiko walked over to Tohru who was putting her bed together.

"Miss Tohru, everything seems to be together now. You can head on to bed now if you want," said Yukiko tapping Tohru on the shoulder.

"Alright Yukiko. I'll wake you up tomorrow before I go to school for breakfast," said Tohru walking out of the room and going to her own across the hall.

As Yukiko was lying in her bed, she began to think of everything that happened today. She yawned at the thought that she had a very busy day and she should be tired by now.

'I'm happy that I finally got to meet my father but I won't get to see him a lot I guess. I'm glad that Shigure is letting me live here. I just can't help but wish I was at my father's house and living with him instead. Well, whatever happens now, I'll be ready and with new friends with me.' And with that thought, Yukiko fell into a deep sleep ready for what the next day would bring her.

--

"I'm here for Valentine's silly," Yukiko walked into the room as she heard an unknown voice. Tohru had woken her up for breakfast that she cooked before she left for school. Yukiko had been talking with Shigure all day about her life and the life of the zodiac members. Yukiko told him about herself and her secret when he accidentally hugged her to show her his zodiac animal. Shigure hadn't transformed like he was supposed to and after that Shigure went to look up what it could mean. She went downstairs when she heard Tohru, Kyo, and Yuki get home from school. She had no idea who this new person was but she figured her to be a Sohma cause she hadn't seen anyone other than Tohru at the house. "It's a very important day for lovers to be together…," Yukiko heard the unknown girl say again as she sat down at the table. The ones to notice her first were Shigure and Yuki as Kyo was mumbling something under his breath.

"You're not gonna find any lover in this house…" Kyo said facing away from the table. Yukiko had sat next to Shigure and stretched her legs under the table's warm blanket. Yukiko realized Tohru wasn't in the room and wondered where she went. Yukiko looked at the girl across from her and questioned Shigure quietly who she was.

"Kyo… Behave, please. Kagura, this is Yukiko. Yukiko, this is Kagura Sohma," said Shigure introducing the two after getting Kagura's attention. Kyo snapped his head over to where Yukiko was sitting.

"What's she doing here!" questioned Kyo at seeing the small girl sitting next to Shigure, willingly!

"Well, stupid cat. If you hadn't of rushed out of the house this morning, you would have realized that she was staying here," said Yuki smiling at Yukiko's surprise for hearing Kyo yell about her.

"Yeah! You wanna take this outside!" yelled Kyo standing up and leaning towards Yuki. Yuki just calmly sat there ignoring the cat.

"Nice to meet you, Yukiko. You're not interested in Kyo are you? I bet you don't like him as much as I-" Kagura tried to say but she was cut off by Kyo placing his hand over her mouth.

"Shut up! It doesn't even matter if she is, cause it's none of your business," yelled Kyo before getting thrown out the wall by Kagura having one of her fits.

"Umm… Does this happen every time she's here?" questioned Yukiko.

"Yes, every time, and my house always seems to get broken," said Shigure whimpering at his newly broken wall. After Kagura was finished tossing Kyo around, her and Kyo sat back down at the table.

"Dammit! I should have left on that journey sooner!" said Kyo frustrated at being Kagura's pincushion. "How was I supposed to know today was Valentine's?"

"It's called a 'calendar'," said Yuki while watching Yukiko grabbed something from next to her. She had brought a small bag in earlier and she now pulled two boxes out of her hand and held them in her small hand.

"Umm… Mister Shigure?" Yukiko said trying to gain Shigure's attention.

"Please, you can call me uncle Shigure. We're practically family now," Shigure replied looking over at the girl next to him. He would have added something, but he knew better than to say anything around Hatori's child. Shigure didn't think Hatori would appreciate it.

Kyo knew the look in Shigure's eyes when he said that. "You sicko!" yelled Kyo knowing what Shigure meant when he said uncle.

"This is for you for letting me stay in your house," Yukiko said handing Shigure a small box with blue wrapping and a gold bow on top. Shigure opened it to see a little box of chocolates. Shigure gave a returning smile to Yukiko then gave her a slight hug.

"Thanks Yukiko. You just made my day all the better. But if you don't mind me asking, who is that other box for?" asked Shigure after tasting one of the chocolates.

"It's for my father when he comes over," Yukiko said. "He's coming over today right?" asked Yukiko hopefully putting the box back in her pocket.

"He promised to didn't he? Hatori doesn't go back on his promises as far as I know," reassured Shigure putting his present aside for later.

"Wait! She's Hatori's daughter?" questioned Kagura looking at Yukiko.

"Yes, but do not let Akito find out. That's why she's staying here for now. Anyways, did you give him chocolates?" Shigure questioned Kagura.

"Well, yeah… I tried… But for some reason he just won't take them from me. Watch," Kagura replied before pulling out a big heart made of chocolate. "Happy Valentine's Day, Kyo! A chocolate heart, stuffed full of my love! All for you!"

"Keep it! What man in his right mind would eat that girly, sugary crap!" yelled Kyo standing up.

"But, you like your chocolate, don't you uncle Shigure?" Yukiko asked him after hearing Kyo's statement about chocolate.

"Of course, don't listen to Kyo, he's just too manly to admit that he likes chocolate," replied Shigure smiling and patting Yukiko on her head. Tohru who had just walked into the room also heard Kyo's proclamation.

"I-I'm sorry, but… do you… do you really not like chocolate, Kyo?" she questioned with her hands behind her back.

"No! I hate it!" he replied. Right after he said that, Kagura got into his face and looked at him creepily.

"Shut up and eat it!" she said. "Did you hear me? I said eat, damn you!" Kagura started to beat Kyo up again.

"No means no, woman!" screamed Kyo. They started to argue and everyone else just ignored them. Shigure noticed something behind Tohru's back and wondered aloud what it was.

"Tohru… I don't suppose those are chocolates you're hiding behind your back?" asked Shigure.

"Well, actually, I did have some here I wanted to give everyone… I forgot to ask… If everyone likes chocolate…" said Tohru pulling the bag in front of her as Kagura and Kyo stop fighting. "You know, silly me!"

"Miss Honda… I would love some chocolate." Said Yuki seeing Tohru's saddened face.

"Okay! Let's see… Here! Here's yours…," Tohru said handing him a small box.

"Thank you very much," said Yuki taking the present from her hand.

"And… this one's for Shigure…" Tohru said pulling out another box and handing it to him.

"Ah! Really? For me? More chocolate. I must be popular with the ladies," said Shigure placing Tohru's gift next to Yukiko's.

"She did say, everyone, didn't she?" said Yuki sarcastically trying to make Kyo feel guilty.

"It's not much, but thanks for everything you've done for me…" Tohru said.

"Oh, no, no… I should be the one thanking you. Still… I'm touched!" said Shigure bawling at Tohru's thoughtfulness. "Tohru's Valentine's chocolates. How they warm the heart and lift the soul!"

"Oh, and Kagura… there's one for you, too." Tohru added handing Kagura yet another one of the small boxes from the bag.

"One for me?" questioned Kagura before giving Tohru a big hug. "Thank you!"

"And I have some for Hatori, and Hatsuharu, and Momiji…" Tohru said putting the presents on the table. "I didn't know if I'd see them today, but I hope there's some way I can give these to them…"

"You really did mean 'everyone', didn't you?" asked Yuki awed at all the presents. Tohru looked around the room making sure she got everyone a present. She then noticed Yukiko sitting next to Shigure looking at a small box in her hand. Noticing that Tohru was looking at her, Yukiko put the box back and smiled at Tohru. Grabbing the second to last box in the bag, Tohru held it out for Yukiko to take.

"I didn't forget you. Even though I haven't known you that long, I wanted to give you something because I hope that we can become great friends," Tohru said proudly as Yukiko smiled at her and took the box. Reaching into her bag, Yukiko grabbed a small pink box and handed it to Tohru.

"Thank you Tohru, here's one for you also," Yukiko said. "I went out earlier with Shigure and he helped me pick some of these presents out. I have one for Yuki and Haru also for helping me yesterday," she said as she handed them their presents. She put the bag back down beside her and decided to give the last one out later.

"Thanks. All the gifts were so cute, and I had so much fun wrapping them, I guess I got a little carried away," Tohru replied remembering Yuki's earlier question. "Oh… but, uh… I suppose first I should've asked to see if they even like chocolate…"

"Oh, don't let what Kyo said bother you…" Shigure said knowing that Kyo was feeling really guilty by now. "You see… he thinks he's being manly… but really… he doesn't have a clue what true manliness is… A real man would have eaten the chocolates without all of this fuss… To refuse a gift… To trample on another person's heart like that, it falls short of being a human being, let alone a man…"

"Oh… uh-h… No, really… I should've known to get something besides chocolate. Like maybe Fist crackers or Thunder Rice Cakes… or, I don't know, something more masculine sounding that he would have liked…" Tohru said.

"Those sound delicious too…," said Shigure thinking of the treats.

"Fine… I just gotta eat it?" questioned Kyo still lying on the floor. "So… I'll eat it!" Kyo yelled, then started chomping down Kagura's chocolate.

"Goodie! Look! Kyo's eating my chocolate!" Kagura screamed happily.

"Um… are you all right?" asked Tohru once Kyo was finished eating. Kyo was still chewing when he held his hand out for Tohru to give him his chocolate.

"Here," said Tohru handing Kyo his Valentine's Day present. Yukiko looked at the scene happily clutching her bag closer to her and smiling.

--

After Kagura had left, Kyo went up to sit on the roof like he usually does. He was sitting thinking about what happened that day, when he heard someone climbing onto the roof from his room. He looked over to see Yukiko crawling over and sitting next to him.

"What do you want?" asked Kyo, irritated that someone had bothered him.

"I just wanted to give you something," said Yukiko taking out the bag that she had earlier. She reached into it and pulled out a small box like Tohru's. She handed it to him and he opened it to find a bag of chocolate chip cookies.

"I was going to give you chocolate like everybody else, but since you already got chocolate from Kagura and Tohru, I decided to just make you cookies instead," Yukiko said smiling at him with a knowing smile.

"Thanks," said Kyo grumpily not wanting to remember the scene from earlier. "You know, you didn't have to get me anything. It's not like I would have cared."

"I know, but I wanted to, since you guys are letting me stay in your home and share it with me." Yukiko said before noticing Shigure walking outside.

"Yukiko, I'm leaving now," Shigure called up to her. Yukiko nodded to him then started to climb down into Kyo's room to leave. She looked back over to him and waved happily before rushing out of the house to follow Shigure to where he was headed. Kyo watched her skip happily following Shigure until they were out of site. Looking down at the bag in his hand, he sighed then sat back to watch the sky.

--

Hatori opened his door after hearing a knock to find Shigure holding a bag and Yukiko blushing bashfully next to him.

"Here! Ha'ri! I got you some Valentine's chocolates!" Shigure said bringing the bag into view. "And a gift," he added letting his eyes wander over to Yukiko.

--

There! Here's chapter 3 for you all. Hope you like it! I'm sorry if anyone was ooc in this chapter but I'm trying to incorporate my character without changing everything up. Please review and let me know what you think.

Love, Archer


	5. Little Dragon

Here's chapter 4 of Innocence. This story isn't getting as many reviews as my other one but oh well. I'll just have to put more action into the chapters and more interaction with Hatori and Yukiko. I might have a friend of mine draw a picture of Yukiko for you guys, if i can find out how to get it in my profile. Hope you like this chapter!

Thanks Joflower for reviewing. I do think that Hatori would be a better father also. lol. Well let's just hope he'll be able to handle her in this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruit's Basket but I do own Yukiko.

Innocence  
Chapter 4  
Little Dragon

Hatori looked over at his daughter standing shyly beside Shigure. She was wearing an off-white dress that came a little above her knees with a light pink coat over it that reminded him of Yuki's. She had on matching boots that went halfway up her calves and went with her dress. In her hands, she had a bag like Shigure's that he guessed held some Valentine's presents but he wasn't sure.

Yukiko smiled at her father's surprise at seeing her. She watched him reach his arm out and grab her wrist before pulling her inside. She turned around in time to see him shutting the door without letting Shigure in. Trying her hardest not to laugh, Yukiko saw Shigure open the door slowly crying.

"Don't hate me… I was kidding! They're from Tohru… can I come in?" Shigure asked leaving the door halfway open. Yukiko could see the stress mark on her father's forehead as Kagura popped up behind Shigure.

"We brought chocolates for everybody!" Kagura said pulling up another bag.

--

After sharing the chocolates with Hatori, Shigure and Kagura left to go find Haru and Momiji. Yukiko had asked them to give the chocolates meant for Haru to him since she wanted time with her father. Hatori and Yukiko were left alone in his office and they had no clue what to say to each other. Yukiko walked over to Hatori and pulled out a small box. She handed it to him carefully and watched him inspect it.

"It's a Valentine's Day present for you," said Yukiko. Hatori looked up at her then opened the box to find a gold key. "Um… there's a small trunk that I brought with me here and it's for you. That's the key to open it. The trunk though, is still at Shigure's. It was too heavy to wrap or carry so I brought you the key."

"Thank you," said Hatori silently wondering what was in the trunk. "I'll come by later and pick up the trunk."

"Okay… um, can I call you…" trailed off Yukiko embarrassed.

"It's alright, you can call me whatever you want," said Hatori. "We need to talk about some important matters right now though. I want you to know that if it was possible right now, I would love to have you live with me. The problem is, Akito doesn't know you exist and I don't think he would react very well to the news."

"It's okay, I understand. I like living with Shigure and the others so far. They're really nice and I'd like to get to know them better," Yukiko said not upset in the least. She wanted to tell him something else, but she didn't know if he would get mad or not.

"Is there anything else I need to know?" asked Hatori noticing her wanting to say something. Yukiko just nodded and walked up to him. He looked down at her before she gave him a hug. Realizing what she was doing, Hatori waited for the inevitable poof signifying his transformation.

"Um… there is something that you need to know," said Yukiko letting go of her father. She saw that he had his eyes closed and was flinched back after she touched him.

Hatori heard her but he didn't comprehend it until after he opened his eyes. Wait, he was still taller than her and standing! Confused, Hatori noticed that he hadn't transformed into his zodiac animal. He observed Yukiko looking anxious and waited for her to finish whatever she was going to tell him.

"You see, I've never been able to hug anyone else up until I met the Sohmas. The only person I ever hugged was my mum and when I did, something happened that she couldn't really explain," Yukiko tried to explain but the puzzled expression on her father's face made her more nervous than ever. "I turned into a dragon." Yukiko rushed out instead of waiting.

Hatori couldn't believe what she just said. There was no possible way that she could turn into a dragon. "What are you talking about?" he finally asked her.

"Well, please don't be mad, but it's true. Whenever I was hugged by my mum, that's what I turned into. Actually, it was more of a sea horse, but my mom always called it a dragon. She said that it involved the zodiac and my father," Yukiko clarified.

"How did this happen? There's never been two zodiac members that were the same animal at the same time. But, one of the zodiac has never had a child also," Hatori rambled on trying to figure out what was happening. "Zodiac members can hug a member of the same sex, yet you can't… Yukiko, Shigure should be leaving about now. I'll be over there as promised tomorrow night and we'll talk about this with Shigure."

"Um… alright," Yukiko agreed, giving her father another hug before jogging out the door. She found Shigure on his way out of the main estate and ran to catch up with him.

"So, how did the visit with your father go?" asked Shigure smiling down at Yukiko.

"It was okay. Where's Kagura?" Yukiko wondered, not seeing the overly cheery girl anywhere.

"She went back home, but Momiji will be coming over later and you can meet him then," said Shigure watching Yukiko nod at the information. After talking a while about each of their visits, Yukiko and Shigure arrived home laughing to themselves like old friends. Kyo and Yuki looked at the two like they were crazy before leaving to go to their rooms.

--

"Tohru! You're home!" Yukiko heard as she came downstairs from her room. Once they got home earlier, Yukiko had decided to go rest in her room until Tohru arrived back. Yukiko walked into the room, to hear Tohru's surprised voice.

"Oh! Momiji!" Yukiko sat down by Yuki at the table as the person she thought was Momiji walked in dragging Tohru.

"I just got here too! Come on, come on! Let's go in! This way! This way!" Momiji said excitedly. "This is my first time to Shigure's house. Isn't it exciting! Hello there!" Yukiko turned and watched as Momiji, Tohru, and Shigure came into view as the door was pushed aside.

"Hi, I'm home from my job!" Tohru said smiling at everyone in the room.

"Welcome back," said Yuki turning towards them. Yukiko got up and ran over to Tohru to greet her.

"Hi, Tohru," Yukiko said grabbing the girl's arm and pulling Tohru over to sit with her at the table.

"Great… The annoying little brat's here," Kyo said walking into the room rubbing his hair with a towel.

"Ah! Someone just got out of the bath!" said the blonde boy that Yukiko was never introduced to. "Kyo-oh!"

"I swear!" Kyo yelled as he started rubbing his knuckles into the younger boy's head. "It bugs me every time you open your mouth!" Yukiko ignored them and turned to Tohru.

"How was your job today, Tohru?" she asked sweetly with a smile on her face.

"It was fine Yukiko. Thank you so much for asking!" Tohru replied just as charming before leaving to get a snack from the kitchen.

"Waah! Kyo's picking on me-e-e!" said the unknown boy as he pretended to cry. Yukiko saw Tohru pop back into the room with a try and snacks on it.

"Momiji… I made a snack, if you're hungry," Tohru said wanting to stop them from bickering.

"Oh, I am!" Momiji said brightly turning towards the girl. Tohru brought the snacks over to the table as Kyo started to pick on Momiji again.

--

"Momiji? Have you told us to what we owe the pleasure of your company this evening?" Shigure asked after the fighting stopped and everyone had a snack.

"Mm-mm, not yet," Momiji said before noticing the unfamiliar face. They hadn't been introduced yet with all the commotion going about, no one remembered. "Is this Hatori's daughter!" Momiji was excited, he had heard about the girl from Kagura and wanted to meet her for himself.

"Oh, yes Momiji. This is Yukiko, and this is Momiji," Shigure said introducing the two. Momiji jumped up and ran over to Yukiko.

"Wow, she's cute!" Momiji exclaimed giving the girl a hug without thinking.

"Wait!" Kyo tried unsuccessfully to stop Momiji in time but the boy was already cooing over the new face. After several seconds, Momiji stopped his actions before he scared the poor girl. He then realized that he was hugging her and he wasn't a bunny like he was supposed to be. Everyone stared in shock, except for Yuki and Shigure who already knew.

"Um… I can explain," tried Yukiko seeing everyone's expressions.

"I'll tell them," Shigure interrupted before Yukiko could say anything about herself. "Hatori called me earlier, Yukiko, and told me what happened when you were over there. You see, Yukiko here is Hatori's daughter. Not one of the other zodiac members have ever had one. I think this may be a reaction to the curse. Yukiko seems to be able to hug other Sohmas, but when she used to hug her mom, she transformed into a smaller version of Hatori, of course. The problem is, this happens when she hugs a member of the same sex, which of course is different than our curse. It may be because she's a daughter of one of the zodiac. Hatori will be looking more into it, but for now, just watch out for anyone other than a Sohma," Shigure said directing his last statement at Yukiko.

"Well, that's definitely different," said Yuki as they all processed this new information.

"I have a question for Tohru!" Momiji announced after deciding to break the silence.

"Uh… Yes?" asked Tohru.

"I'll bet you don't know what day it is tomorrow!" Momiji said.

"Let's see, tomorrow… um, it's March 14th, right?" inquired Tohru.

"Bingo!" replied Momiji raising a finger. "And March 14th is White Day! So tomorrow, I'm giving you a present… It's a trip to a Hot Spring! I call it, 'Me and Tohru's and Yukiko's Super-Relaxing Hot Spring Steam Trip!'" Yukiko's eyes widened as he added her and barely noticed Tohru also freaking out.

"Me? But we just met, I can't let you do that for me," Yukiko stuttered.

"But I want to, we're friends now!" Momiji exclaimed happily hugging her, just because he could now.

"I don't think you have to name it," Shigure muttered.

"A hot spring? Which one?" asked Yuki after Momiji finished cheerfully squeezing poor Yukiko.

"You know, there's that one place the Sohma's run, right?" stated Momiji.

"Ah, I see," Yuki replied understanding.

"I don't know… An invitation to an expensive sounding place like a hot spring? It's too much! I couldn't accept! I'd just be asking for it," said Tohru finally coming back to earth.

"Uh, you know, Tohru, it's just a hot spring," Shigure said trying to calm the girl down. "It's not like he's flying you off to Paris, or anything like that. It would be a real shame to turn it down. You should go. It'll be a good chance to get away from it all, relax…"

"Yeah, Tohru. If I go, then you must come too or else it wouldn't be the same," Yukiko said desperately trying to get Tohru to agree.

"I'm sorry, I thought you'd be happy to go…" Momiji said after agreeing with Yukiko's statement.

"No, I am happy… Thank you so much," Tohru said finally accepting.

"Yuki and Kyo are coming too! And Yukiko!" Momiji said pleased.

"Why don't you try asking before you start making plans for everyone!" Kyo screamed at Momiji.

"Aa-www, go with us, go with us!" Momiji begged pulling on Kyo's shirt. Momiji's bunny ears appeared and flopped over.

"Forget it! And whining like that isn't gonna change my mind!" Kyo screamed, his own cat ears popping out.

"Yuki… will you come?" asked Momiji with a saddened expression on his face.

"Of course… I wouldn't miss it," he replied. Momiji cheered at hearing his answer.

"Okay, now I really don't wanna go," Kyo mumbled.

"Why not? You don't have to worry about money… I've been saving up my allowance," Momiji said.

"That's not the problem," Kyo argued as a stress mark appeared on his head.

"Oh, speaking of money, Yukiko. Hatori said to come to either me or him if you wanted anything. Reasonable, of course. His way of showing he cares for now. And Tohru, I hear you still haven't paid last month's dues toward your class field trip fund," Shigure said turning from one to the other. "I got a call from your grandfather. Apparently, someone from the school called him. He said he'd pay for you if you needed."

"No, no, no! I can't ask him to do that!" Tohru cried jumping up. "It would be too much trouble! He can't! Last month there was just… a lot going on… but I'll be able to catch up with the money I earn at my job this month, so it's all right. I already explained everything to the teacher in charge… So… I'm sorry… I'm sorry you had to hear about it."

"But, Tohru… You worked a pretty fair amount last month… So how is it-" Shigure said before coming to the conclusion that she used the money for all the valentines she bought.

"So, hey! You're gonna go on a class trip, huh?" asked Momiji.

"Oh… I don't know…" Tohru said.

"Wha--!" yelled Kyo.

"Y-Yes?" asked Tohru shocked from when Kyo popped right into their faces.

"Water… hot bath… you go…" Kyo stuttered trying not to stay angry.

"Uh… O—kay?" wondered Tohru. "Yukiko, do you want to take a bath too?"

"Sure!" said Yukiko jumping up and running out of the room, pulling Tohru behind her.

--

"You know… You really are somethin'… You know that?" Was all Yukiko heard before she was dragged out from behind the sheets with Momiji.

"Kyo's got the hots this morning!" Momiji said latching himself onto Kyo's arm. Yukiko giggled at the sight as Kyo tried to pry Momiji off.

"I do not!" Kyo screamed. Momiji turned to the tittering Yukiko and laughed with her.

"He's got the hots!" Momiji said.

"Shut up!" Yukiko heard Kyo scream as she turned to Yuki who looked like he just woke up.

"Waah-haah!" she heard Momiji cry aloud.

"What's going on?" questioned Yuki. Tohru came over to stand by Yukiko and Yuki.

"Ah! You're up just in time! Kyo just told me that he's decided to come to the hot spring with us!" Tohru announced ignoring Kyo beating up Momiji.

"Well… I suppose we'll survive," Yuki said before hearing Yukiko giggle and hug him happily. He looked down at her laughing away with Tohru, before he joined them and smiled at her cheerfulness this morning.

--

Well, there we have it. The beautiful chapter 4! I must say that I had fun writing this chapter and I can't wait to write more. Yukiko's secret will be explained more later. She's beginning to open up more and she's becoming good friends with Shigure, Tohru, and Yuki. I might end up changing how her visit with her father went. He seems cold only because they don't know each other that well and they haven't spent that much time together. Trust me, they'll eventually warm up to each other. Next chapter – Hot Springs! Please review and let me know what you think of my story!

Love, Archer


	6. Hot Springs Time

Well, I don't have much to say except, I saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for the second time in three days! I love that movie! I swear, I almost died laughing. If any of you have seen it, then you probably know what I'm talking about. Johnny Depp is soooo hot! Anyways, thanks to the reviewers from the last chapter, the responses will be at the end as usual. Hope you like this chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruit's Basket but I do own Yukiko.

Innocence  
Chapter 5  
Hot Springs Time

"Hey, Tohru! Look! A mountain!" Momiji yelled looking out the window on their way to the hot springs.

"Ah, yes," Tohru replied.

"Ooh! And a river!" Momiji continued.

"Uh-huh," Tohru said not really paying attention.

"And a field!" Momiji said. Tohru just nodded again happily. "And look! It turned out to be a beautiful day, huh?"

"Yes, it did!" Tohru answered. She was sitting next to Momiji and across from Yuki and Kyo. Yukiko was sitting on the other side of Momiji. Earlier, when she was about to sit next to Kyo, Momiji had complained that he wanted to sit next to the little cutie. Sensing a fight beginning to erupt between the two, Yukiko heartily agreed and now sat where Momiji could talk to her.

"Right Yuki? Right Kyo?" asked Momiji hopping over to the other two's seat.

"I guess," they both replied at the same time. They looked at each other, then Kyo turned away angrily.

"If you wanted to sit next to Yukiko so much, then do it and stop hopping around," Kyo yelled over at Momiji.

"Aw, don't be so mean," Momiji said taking his rightful seat next to the quiet Yukiko. "Hi there!"

"Hello Momiji," replied Yukiko looking back from the window.

"So why are you guys being so quiet? You're not sad you came, are you?" Momiji asked looking at them all.

"No, not at all. I'm very glad you allowed me to come. This gives me time to get to know you all better," Yukiko said, allowing a huge smile to cross her face. Momiji and Yukiko started up a conversation while the others talked about… well, other things…

"Momiji, you're in the same class as Haru, right?" asked Yukiko.

"Yes that's right. We're in our last year right now and I can't wait to go to the high school with everybody!" Momiji exclaimed.

"I think my… um Hatori, is putting me in the same class as you guys when you go to the high school next year," Yukiko said stuttering over Hatori's name. She looked out the window wanting the subject to end for now.

Momiji looked sad as the conversation ended, but he perked up when he noticed they were almost at the Hot Springs. Turning back to looked over at the disheartened Yukiko, Momiji noticed what she was wearing wasn't from Japan. She had on a white dress that ended a little ways above her knees. The dress itself had a mint green belt over the waist and hip part. It had long sleeves that flared out slightly and the bottom of the dress poofed when she walked. Over the dress, she wore a mint green coat that was like the one she wore yesterday. Her boots matched her coat exactly and went to mid-calf. All in all, she looked very pretty today and was depressed for some reason.

"Why do you look so sad?" Momiji decided to ask.

"Well, you see. Hatori promised that he would come visit me tonight, but since we're going to the Hot Springs, I won't actually be able to see him for a couple days. Even though I only met him about a week ago, I miss him already," Yukiko replied looking at Momiji sitting next to her.

"Oh I see. Why don't you call him dad?" wondered Momiji.

"I would, but I don't think I'm ready to yet. I haven't known him that long and even though he told me to call him that, I'm just not ready," Yukiko said before noticing the bus stopping. They all got out and walked to the entrance of the Hot Springs.

"Wow… It's absolutely beautiful!" Tohru exclaimed, and everyone agreed with her.

"Well, come on Princess Tohru, your room awaits!" Momiji said.

"Ah… Thank you, Momiji. It's all so wonderful… You really have made me feel like a princess…" Tohru said dreamily.

"That's right! You're the princess! Ooh! And I'll be your knight!" Momiji replied happily. Yukiko was anxious to get inside the hot springs, and pulled Yuki inside with her.

"Let's go Yuki. I wanna look around," Yukiko said joyfully. Yuki nodded and followed her while watching rooms pass by. They heard the rest of the group enter with some lady before making their way back to the entrance. They stood behind the lady that was on her knees and listened to their conversation.

"Oh… don't worry. She's the Hot Spring Lady…" Momiji said at seeing Tohru's frightened look.

"The word is hostess…" Yuki said as they walked back over to Momiji and the rest. Looking their way, Momiji noticed Yukiko stand next to him.

"Yukiko! You're back!" Momiji exclaimed before wrapping his arms around the shorter girl beside him.

"Ah… yes," Yukiko replied slowly.

"Uh-h, a-are you okay? Is everything all right?" Tohru asked the Lady seeing her kneeling on the ground.

"Pleeease! Let me show you to your room!" the lady said grabbing Tohru's arms. Tohru screamed at the quick movement.

--

"Guess what! The hot spring Lady is a Sohma, too!" Momiji said as they were walking towards their rooms. He was holding Yukiko's hands cheerfully pulling her beside him. Yukiko looked slightly uncomfortable but was too busy looking around at everything. "But she gets sick a lot, so she stays here, for the health benefits and all that. The Sohmas own this place, you know."

"Oh, really?" wondered Tohru.

"I do apologize if I startled you…" The hot spring lady began.

"Oh, no… please, you don't have to apologize to me…" Tohru said raising her hands. "Just as long as you're feeling okay, that's what's important…"

"You are too kind to an old woman like me… but thank you," the lady said.

"Um… excuse me," Yukiko said to gain the lady's attention. The hot springs lady looked down at Yukiko and smiled. "Why are there no other people here? We haven't seen anyone else yet."

"I can answer that!" Momiji said smiling. "You see, since it's early in the season, most people haven't started to come yet."

"Oh, okay," Yukiko said understanding.

"I'm surprised Young Master Shigure didn't accompany you today," the hot springs lady said as they started to walk again. "Perhaps he was too busy with work?"

"Young Master Shigure? How old are you!" Kyo asked rudely.

"Yes, he had deadlines on two books coming up," Yuki said politely ignoring Kyo's outburst.

"Well, that's a shame," the lady replied. "You see, you're the only guests we have today… It would have been a fine chance to visit with him." They stopped at a room and the lady slid the door open. "Ah, here we are. This will be your room."

"Wow, it's so big!" Momiji squealed as he skipped into the room dragging a reluctant Yukiko.

"Yes. I made sure we had our best room prepared for your arrival," the lady explained.

"Tohru! Come over here! You've got to look at this garden!" Momiji said standing by a window.

"Wo-ow! I can't believe how beautiful it all is," Tohru said looking into the vast garden. "How bit is it? It looks like it goes on forever!"

"Well… almost… See, from that forest over there, all the way to that mountain, it's all Sohma property," Momiji said. "And since Yukiko is now a Sohma, everything is hers to visit too!"

"Are you serious?" asked Yukiko wide eyed at the thought of all this being her family's property.

"Uh-huh! Everything you see is Sohma!" Momiji said.

"Well… while we're here… maybe it would be fun to go out for a walk," Tohru said intrigued with the picture.

"You wouldn't be the first to think so… Actually, we've even had a few guests go walking who never made it back…" the lady said holding a cup of tea. Yukiko, scared, grabbed onto Tohru who was equally as frightened.

"Tohru, Yukiko… You were supposed to laugh," Momiji said laughing at the girl's faces.

"Oh, that was just a joke… How silly, of course it was…" Tohru said as both she and Yukiko sighed with relief.

"Yeah, so don't worry. Really, they never lose the guests for too long…" Momiji said giggling. Both the girls visibly jumped at the thought. "There's a professional search party on call at all times." Yukiko grabbed onto Tohru's arm again and shivered at what Momiji said.

"What! You mean they have to send out search parties!" Tohru said exactly what Yukiko was thinking.

"Tohru, that was a joke too…" Momiji whispered to the shocked girls. They both relaxed and laughed nervously.

"Oh, I guess it was, wasn't it…" Tohru trailed off. Yukiko, who didn't want to hear anymore jokes, went and sat at the table beside Yuki.

"Are you alright?" Yuki asked looking at the slightly shaken girl.

"Um… yes, I'm fine," Yukiko replied giving him a shaky smile.

"Miss Tohru, Miss Yukiko, I've prepared a room for you adjacent to the young masters' here…" the lady said still sitting across from Yuki.

"Oh, okay," Tohru replied.

"Hey!" they heard Kyo say from where he was sitting off to the side. "I hope you don't think I'm stayin' in the same room as that damn Yuki!" They all felt his dark aura begin to grow.

"You two get along as poorly as ever, I see…" the lady said laughing. "But please, don't be upset… There are sliding doors to divide the room…"

"That's not the point! The point is, I didn't come here to—" Kyo started jumping up.

"The point is, you just want to stay in the same room as Tohru and Yukiko, don't you?" Momiji said nudging Kyo in his side.

"How crude," Yuki said calmly.

"Hey! I didn't say that!" Kyo complained. "So shut up, Momiji, you and your damn mouth!"

"Master Kyo…" the hot springs lady said darkly from behind him. "Ahhhh! You should be ashamed of yourself! To think you would even suggest the idea of sharing a room with young women!" The lady ranted as everyone watched the growing fight.

"Is she always this loud?" Yukiko asked Yuki.

"Yes. Unfortunately, she has a son that's the same way," Yuki replied taking a sip of his tea. Yukiko followed his example and drank her tea as to not be rude.

--

"All right then… I'll leave you to enjoy yourselves," the lady said before leaving the room. Kyo sat down in a chair relaxed.

"Finally. It's quiet," he said.

"There's still time before dinner, so let's take a bath! Okay, Yukiko?" Momiji asked while holding his belongings for after his bath. He handed Yukiko her things before he pulled her along after him.

"Um… okay," she replied.

"Come on Tohru. You can come too," Momiji said as the other girl agreed. "Let's take it together!" The girls agreed while Yuki and Kyo stopped what they were doing in shock.

"You little- Now who's the pervert?" Kyo asked slamming Momiji into the floor. Yukiko grabbed his arm in an attempt to stop him from hurting Momiji.

"Don't hurt him," Yukiko complained trying to pull Kyo off of Momiji.

"Aww-ww, what'd I do?" Momiji cried aloud.

"Oh… but Momiji and Yukiko are still so little and all, I think it'll be okay. I mean, uh-" Tohru tried to explain.

"Little! What the hell are you talking about!" Kyo yelled. Yukiko was still trying to pull him off of Momiji.

"Kyo-o! I wanna go in with Yu-ki-ko! I wanna! I wanna! I wanna!" Momiji cried as Yukiko successfully got Kyo off of Momiji. They didn't notice Yuki was about to say something. "Wahhh!"

"Momiji… Why don't we give the girls some time to themselves?" Yuki asked pulling Momiji's face towards him. "After all, the reason we brought them here was to give them a chance to relax, right?"

"Right, I get it," Momiji replied calmly. "But tonight we'll sleep together, okay?"

--

Tohru and Yukiko finally made it into their own hot spring to relax. Tohru had brought her mother's picture wrapped up so it wouldn't get wet. They heard Momiji on the other side of the rock splashing into the water.

"How nice, my first open-air bath! And the spring seems almost big enough for someone like you and Momiji to swim in!" Tohru said looking down at the smaller girl who was looking around excitedly.

"You're right!" Yukiko exclaimed before running and jumping into the hot springs like they heard Momiji do. Yukiko swam around a couple of times before happily sitting down and relaxing.

"Ta-da!" She heard Tohru exclaim before holding up a picture.

"What's that?" Yukiko asked Tohru sliding over to sit near the older girl.

"It's a picture of my mom. She's not alive anymore, but I like to talk to her sometimes," Tohru explained.

"Yea, my mom's not alive anymore either but I don't have a picture of her anymore. I lost it while I was coming here," Yukiko said sadly remembering her deceased mother.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Tohru said.

"It's okay. Don't worry about it," Yukiko said smiling at Tohru before continuing to swim around the small hot spring. She listened to Momiji splashing on the other side before Kyo got angry. Everything was quiet a moment before Momiji was yelling over to the girl's side of the fence.

"Yukiko! Tohru! How are you doing?" Momiji asked jumping up and down.

"Great Momiji," Yukiko replied before hearing Kyo yelling at Momiji. She laughed quietly to herself.

"Oh, hey! I know! Tohru, let's sing a song, okay? That way, it'll seem like we're all in here together," Momiji said happily. "It'll be a lot of fun! Really!"

"Uh… A-a song?" Tohru stuttered.

"Yeah, yeah! Sing something!" Yukiko heard Momiji yell excitedly from the other side.

"Well… I wouldn't know what to sing. I'm afraid I don't really know many songs…" Tohru said.

"Okay, Yukiko, you sing then!" Momiji exclaimed. Yukiko stopped her swimming then concentrated.

"Okay, I got one!" Yukiko said before she started singing. Everyone stopped moving so they could hear her better.

"And I'd give up forever to touch you

'Cause I know that you feel me somehow

You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be

And I don't want to go home right now

And all I can taste is this moment

And all I can breathe is your life

And sooner or later it's over

I just don't want to miss you tonight

And I don't want the world to see me

'Cause I don't think that they'd understand

When everything's made to be broken

I just want you to know who I am

And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming

Or the moment of truth in your lies

When everything feels like the movies

Yeah, you bleed just to know you're alive

And I don't want the world to see me

'Cause I don't think that they'd understand

When everything's made to be broken

I just want you to know who I am

And I don't want the world to see me

'Cause I don't think that they'd understand

When everything's made to be broken

I just want you to know who I am

I just want you to know who I am…" Yukiko sung trailing off. She looked up and saw that Tohru had tears in her eyes.

"That was beautiful, Miss Yukiko," she heard Yuki say from the other side of the fence.

"Oh, thank you," Yukiko replied quietly while blushing.

"Okay, now let's sing one together!" Momiji exclaimed cheerfully. "Who's in the forest, strolling? The birds and the bees sing, Momiji! The frogs in the pond are calling Momiji, yes it's true! The trees raise their leaves-"

"What the hell is that?" Kyo interrupted rudely.

"It's my song. I made it up!" Momiji replied.

"So why don't you make up something that isn't so annoying?" Kyo asked irritated.

"Just sing it! Tohru, Yukiko, you sing too!" Momiji said before singing. Yukiko laughed before joining him. Tohru started to sing also quietly before getting used to the song.

"Hey, knock it off already!" Kyo said annoyed. Yukiko laughed with Momiji and continued to sing. Tohru's voice increased in volume as she grew more comfortable with singing in front of everybody.

"Ah this is driving me crazy!" Kyo yelled. Momiji, Yukiko, and Tohru continued singing happily together. Yukiko looked over at Tohru when she noticed the older girl had stopped singing. She gasped and rushed over when she saw that Tohru was wobbling and colored a bright red.

"Tohru!" Yukiko yelled seeing the other girl faint and fall into the hot spring.

'What do I do!' Yukiko wondered nervously grabbing the taller girl out of the water. Yukiko had no idea what she would do with Tohru after she fainted. 'Somebody help, please!'

--

Well, there's another chapter! I hope you liked it. Yukiko is definitely talking much more and interacting with the characters a lot. Haha, they didn't know that Momiji was a boy! Silly girls. The song was Iris by Goo Goo Dolls. I couldn't find anything else I liked to fit the moment. Anyways, please review and let me know what you thought.

Love, Archer

Review responses from chapter 4:

sachiko sohma: thanks for reviewing!

hatorifan: thanks for reviewing also, it makes me so happy to know that people like and actually read my stories.

Thanks to anyone else that reviewed in the earlier chapters!


	7. Yukiko's White Day Gift

I am so sorry for the wait but I've been having problems with one of my other stories. I had to delete it, but if you guys are curious then you can go find out what happened in my profile when I update it next. Thanks for being patient and I promise to write quicker from now on. Thanks guys. Hope you like this chapter. Onward to the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket but I do own Yukiko.

Innocence  
Chapter 6  
Yukiko's White Day Gift

"Tohru! Are you in there?" asked Yukiko over the unconscious girl on the floor. Tohru's eyes were opening and Yukiko breathed a sigh of relief.

"What happened?" Tohru asked as she sat up quickly.

"Tohru, you're alright!" Yukiko exclaimed hugging the confused girl.

"Oh, good. I'm glad to see you've come around," the hot springs lady from earlier said. "It's not very often someone faints during their bath… but our hot spring… well, it can make some people dizzy…"

"But she's okay now. It was pretty hot," Yukiko informed.

"Where's my Mom!" Tohru wondered panicking. Yukiko giggled then took something out from behind her back. She held up the picture of Tohru's mother proudly before handing it to Tohru.

"Here Tohru," Yukiko said smiling happily.

"The plastic you wrapped it in kept it nice and dry. No harm done…" the lady said.

"Thank goodness. Um… but I guess I really should be thanking you for helping me. I'm sorry if I put you to any trouble," Tohru said.

"Oh no, don't mind me. It was this young lady who brought you inside when you had fainted. She even went back out and searched for your Mother," the hot springs lady remarked watching Yukiko blush and lower her eyes bashfully.

"Thank you Yukiko," Tohru said gratefully. Yukiko sent a shy smile to Tohru and nodded her head in acknowledgement.

"Tohru! Are you okay?" the girls heard Momiji ask from outside the door.

"Oh! Yes I'm fine! Nothing to worry about!" Tohru replied. She turned to the hot springs lady. "Really, thank you so much for all your help." Tohru took Yukiko's wrist and pulled the younger girl with her out the door.

"Everyone will be happy that you're awake. They were so worried," Yukiko said to Tohru as they were leaving. "Um… Tohru?"

"Yes?" asked Tohru looking down at Yukiko.

"I'm happy that you're okay," Yukiko said looking at her shoes. Tohru smiled at the girl before walking again.

--

"Ohh wow! Incredible!" cried Tohru looking at the table full of delicious looking food. "I've never seen so many delicious foods all on one table!"

"It's all for us?" wondered Yukiko at the vast expanse of the treats.

"You think we can eat all this?" asked Kyo looking to his right at Yukiko's excited expression. Kyo was sitting next to Yuki and across from Momiji. Next to Momiji was Tohru and at the side of the table between him and Kyo was Yukiko.

"Well, I guess I better get started serving the rice!" Tohru said happily.

"Oh I'll help!" Yukiko said just as cheerfully as Tohru. She started towards the rice bowl when Momiji stopped her and Tohru.

"No you don't! You're the princess today, Tohru. Remember, I'll do it," Momiji said. While he was talking to Tohru, Yukiko took the chance to grab the bowl and start serving the rice. By the time Momiji turned back towards Yukiko, she was finishing with putting rice on her plate. "Yukiko! Why? You're a princess too and you shouldn't have to do it yourself!"

"I wanted to help," Yukiko said pouting slightly. "And I really didn't want you to trouble yourself."

"It's okay," Momiji replied before smacking Kyo's wandering hands away from the food.

"What the hell was that!" Kyo screamed as he retracted his beaten hand.

"Princess Tohru and cute Yukiko get to go first!" Momiji explained as though talking to a child.

"Well, girls, what are you going to try?" Yuki asked politely. They both looked at all the delightful treats and wondered if they could choose only one.

"I don't know, there's just so much," Tohru said nervously.

"Well, I want that one. My mum used to make them and they're my favorite!" Yukiko exclaimed grabbing a small bite and chewing it.

"Don't be shy Tohru! Dig in!" Momiji said watching Yukiko's face break out in a huge grin.

"How about this one?" Tohru said grabbing a piece of meat and eating it. "It's delicious!"

"Here Tohru, try this one also," Yukiko said handing the older girl one of the desserts that she tried.

"Yum!" Tohru said after swallowing the dessert.

"My mom taught me how to make them. I'll teach you if you want Tohru," Yukiko said.

"That would be wonderful, Yukiko," Tohru replied pleased. The door then slid open to reveal the hot springs lady.

"The head chef would very much like to pay his respects to the young masters," she said folding her feet under her. A man walked in and sat down in the same style like the lady.

"As always, it is my pleasure to serve you," the man said taking of his hat. "Does the cuisine meet with your approval?"

"Oh yeah!" Kyo responded.

"It's even more delicious than I remembered," Yuki said politely.

"It's absolutely heavenly," Yukiko added shyly popping out from behind Kyo who was blocking her view.

"It is. A meal fit for a king," Tohru said. The man's eyes bulged as she said this in surprise. He ran towards the table and put his hands around one of the bowls.

"Ah! It's too cold!" He said. "This is inexcusable!" He shifted back in line with the lady and bowed to the floor and rattled on about his mistake.

They watched anxiously as the chef and hostess fought over whose fault it was about why the meal was cold.

"They seem an awful like each other," Yukiko said watching them fight with wide eyes.

"By any chance, are those two…?" Tohru trailed off.

"Related? Yes, they're cousins…" Yuki replied calmly ignoring they brawl behind him.

--

"So Tohru went to one of the springs that won't get too hot?" Momiji asked Yukiko as they were sitting by a small table playing cards. Kyo and Yuki had joined in after awhile and were enjoying the game.

"That's right. I guess she wanted to relax some more. She brought her mum with her this time also," Yukiko said as she won the hand of poker she had taught them earlier.

"Why do you keep winning!" screamed Kyo as he lost for the ninth time.

"I'm sorry," Yukiko said nervously not quite used to Kyo's temper.

"Don't pay attention to him Yukiko. He never knows when to shut his mouth," Yuki said calmly as he put his cards on the table in front of him.

"Shut up, ya damn rat!" Kyo yelled. "Come on, let's go!" Kyo got up and raised his fists.

"I wouldn't want you to embarrass yourself in front of Miss Yukiko, now Kyo," Yuki said mockingly keeping his patience.

"What! Okay, that's it? Let's take this outside!" Kyo said angrily. Momiji and Yukiko were just watching the two. Not wanting to watch the rest of the fight, Momiji got up and pulled the nervous girl with him.

"Come on, Yukiko. Let's go look around," Momiji said as he walked out the door still pulling the girl like everyone seemed to be doing lately.

"Will they be alright?" Yukiko asked looking back towards the now closed door.

"Of course. Now let's go see if Tohru's finished yet," Momiji said starting to skip down the hall. Yukiko giggled cheerfully before bouncing right behind him.

--

"Yeah, that's right. The hot spring lady is Ritsu's mom," Momiji explained to Tohru after they found her. "Sorry, I guess I thought I told you that already."

"Will we meet him sometime soon?" questioned Yukiko at the thought of meeting another member of the zodiac.

"Maybe. Everyone just seems to be turning up everywhere nowadays," Momiji replied. "Now let's go play ping-pong, okay?" Tohru and Yukiko nodded and walked into the room with tables set up. Kyo and Yuki were in the room already playing against each other.

"Out again," Yuki said as the ball that Kyo slammed past his face. Yukiko watched as Kyo kept hitting it too hard. "I told you, you have to let it bounce on the table."

"Shut up! That's stupid! Why would I wanna hit that slow?" Kyo screamed.

"Um… Kyo, that's how you're supposed to play," Yukiko explained cautiously trying to avoid Kyo's aggression. Kyo ignored her as Yuki hit the ball over the net, and he slammed his paddle into it again. They all watched it crash into the wall from the strength with which Kyo hit it.

"Hang in there, Kyo! You can do it!" Tohru cheered obliviously.

"I thought at least at ping-pong he might have a chance to beat me…" Yuki started. He smiled slightly as he heard Yukiko trying to smother her giggles. "But as usual, he's hopeless."

Kyo screamed as he flipped the table over in his hostility at losing again.

"How can I beat you with all these stupid rules! You damn rat!" Kyo shouted. "How 'bout we take this outside!"

"You know, you're the one who wanted to play this game in the first place…" Yuki muttered. Someone then started to howl with laughter at the scene. Turning to the disruption of their fight, everyone saw that it was little Yukiko who was laughing so hard.

"What the hell are you laughing at?" Kyo screeched.

"It's just… I've never seen something so funny!" Yukiko said trying to calm her laughter. She soon had tears running down her face as she clutched her stomach, doubling over.

"It's not funny!" screamed Kyo irritably.

"Don't yell at her just because you're upset," Momiji said upset.

"Uh… well, if you still want to play…" Tohru said uncertainly. "I'll try playing with you…"

"Ooh, that sounds like fun! Play her, play her!" Momiji added as Yukiko finally got her giggles under control.

"Miss Yukiko, would you like to play ping-pong with me on the other table?" Yuki asked politely motioning towards the other table.

"Sure!" Yukiko agreed taking her place on one side of the long table. Yuki took the other side and served the ping-pong ball. Yukiko hit it delicately passing it back towards him smoothly. They passed it back and forth softly for awhile, neither wanting to gain the upper hand. They paused in their game to watch Kyo and Tohru start their own match.

"Don't forget it has to bounce," Yuki said to Kyo dimly waiting for them to start.

"You shut up!" Kyo yelled to both Yuki and Yukiko as she started to chuckle again. He passed the ball correctly this time. Tohru ran to hit it but overestimated and missed. Everyone had dumbfounded expressions as the ball bounced on the ground behind Tohru.

"I missed it!" Tohru noticed obliviously. Kyo sweatdropped.

"Yeah, I noticed. You kinda' suck," he informed.

"Kyo, don't tell her that," Momiji said disapprovingly. As Momiji and Kyo continued to verbally argue, Tohru and Yukiko both noticed that Yuki was walking towards the door and outside. Tohru followed him as Yukiko stayed and tried to separate the two boys. Kyo and Momiji started to play their own game of ping-pong as Yukiko went over to the glass door looking outside. She saw Yuki kiss a ribbon in Tohru's hair that Yukiko didn't notice earlier.

Yukiko sighed unnoticeably by the boys before walking out the door quietly. She walked down the hall and stopped when she arrived by a small pond outside in a garden.

'I wish my dad was here to share the serene quiet of this place,' Yukiko thought as she smiled to herself by picturing her father. 'Yes, then it would be perfect.'

She laid back and rested in the grass looking up at the shining stars appearing in the night sky. She closed her eyes soon after and feel into a light sleep dreaming of dancing among those stars.

--

"Miss Yukiko?" said a voice familiar to Yukiko as she groggily opened her eyes. She jumped slightly as she noticed a pair of purple eyes staring into her own sleepy ones. "Are you okay?"

"Um… yes I'm alright, Yuki," Yukiko replied as he helped her to stand up.

"How long have you been out here? It's rather chilly," Yuki said as she patted her clothes down from the grass it obtained.

"For just a couple minutes, I think," Yukiko said. She wasn't really cold so she couldn't have been asleep for a long time.

"Well, why don't we head inside? I think Momiji and Tohru are getting ready for bed," Yuki said as they started walking to the hot springs building. "Oh, I wanted to give you something also." He stopped walking and pulled something out of a sleeve. Yukiko took what he was holding out and gasped as she looked at it.

"But… how'd you get this?" Yukiko asked softly still shocked. In her hands was a picture of her mother when she was younger, and beside her was a man that could only be recognized as her father.

"I asked Hatori if he had any photographs of her and he gave me this one," Yuki replied delighted by her surprised expression. Yuki started faintly as she looked back up at him with tears gathering in her eyes.

"I don't know how to thank you for this," Yukiko began.

"Don't worry about it. It is white day after all," Yuki interrupted smiling down at her.

"Thank you," Yukiko said.

"You're quite welcome," Yuki barely got out before he was squished in a tight hug. He looked stunned down at her as she grinned up at him. He gave in and patted herhead happily.

--

'Wow. Now I can talk to you in spirit just like Tohru does with her mum,' Yukiko thought as she lay in the bed set up for her on the floor. Momiji was lying in between her and Tohru, who were both asleep.

'I love you mum,' Yukiko thought before lying down and falling asleep. She gave the picture one last hug before flitting off into her dream world.

--

"I'm afraid it's time to say goodbye," the hot springs lady started. "But please… all of you… I do hope you'll come again soon."

"I hope so too," Yukiko said while she finished packing her stuff. She softly placed her mother's picture on the top of her bag before sealing it shut.

"Do you have to lean on me like that?" questioned Kyo who was annoyed with the lady that was leaning against him. Yukiko giggled at the expression on Kyo's face.

"Thank you. And take care of yourself," Tohru said politely.

"You as well… You as well, Miss Tohru…" the lady replied as her and Kyo started to fall dangerously close to the ground.

"O-kay. Heavy," Kyo said irritated by the woman.

"I think our driver got lost," Momiji said to the rest.

"Hey, Momiji. I guess after this I won't get to see you for a while, huh?" Tohru wondered.

"Huh?" asked Momiji wondering what Tohru was talking about.

"But you know, I don't think I even know what year you'll be starting in school this spring…" Tohru said. "Is this your first year of middle school?"

"Nope!" Momiji exclaimed. "This spring will be my first year in high school! And as it turns out, I'll be going to the same high school as you! That's right! Me and Haru, both!"

"Can't forget me! I'm in the same class as Momiji!" Yukiko added shouldering her bag with a proud look grinning with Momiji. Tohru stood there with a shocked expression thinking about what Momiji and Yukiko said.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner you and Haru were coming to our school!" Kyo screamed at Momiji. "And you!" Kyo added as he turned towards the innocently smiling Yukiko.

"We wanted it to be a surprise!" Momiji replied.

"Miss Honda, I'm guessing you didn't know. But Momiji actually is only a year younger than us, the same age as Haru," Yuki said to the stunned Tohru.

"Yeah, and I'm still a year younger than them, but I get to be in the same grade," Yukiko added holding Tohru up as she was tilting to one side.

"All this time I thought he was in elementary school…" Tohru said suddenly as she regained her balance. "And now he's coming to our high school? Together with Hatsuharu! Ah-h-h… I don't even know which part I should be most surprised about!"

"Be surprised about everything!" Momiji said from where he was standing by Kyo.

"Well, I think she took that quite well," Yukiko said cheerfully as Tohru stood still freaking out.

--

"Well, here they are. My White Day presents for Tohru and Yukiko," Shigure said hanging up a short blue dress and a short pink dress. They looked similar but the pink one looked slightly more innocent than the blue one. "Lovely, aren't they? Poor Tohru has gone far too long without suitable clothing to wear while cleaning the house. And Yukiko has nothing nice to wear while helping me with my writing."

"It's amazing no one's locked you up yet. And… Hatori's going to kill you," Haru said without looking at Shigure. Shigure just went back to fiddling with the dresses humming happily.

--

Alrighty, I have finished a new chapter and hopefully I haven't lost any readers during the long wait. I just had to add that ending scene with Shigure and Haru. It was too funny. Hope you liked this chapter as we got to see more of Yukiko's character and she definitely added more to the conversations. She has opened up to them so well and I'm proud of her. Anyways, please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter. Thanks for reviewing on the last chapter.

Love, Archer


	8. A Chance Encounter

Well, here's the promised chapter 7. I'm happy that you liked the last chapter cause I have fun writing it. Sooo funny, when I was typing, I had to stop sometimes to laugh. Oh, and this chapter, I don't know who Haru and Momiji's teacher is so I'm going to make up a person okay? And anyone else in their class. Well, I'm gonna try to do a whole episode today and see how it works out. It will be long, but I don't want it to be too long. Anyways, please review and let me know what you think. Onwards, O Entertained Ones!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket but I do own Yukiko.

- means a flashback  
-- means a scene change

Innocence  
Chapter 7  
A Chance Encounter

"Can you remember where you saw it last?" Yukiko heard vaguely as she walked down the hall trying to find someone who could help her to her class. It was her first day of school and she was wearing a uniform that looked like Tohru's. Her father took her to school this morning with Momiji, Haru. Shigure had left earlier than them saying he had to go see someone. She soon lost them when they went off looking for the other Sohmas. Yukiko figured that she would run into one of them sooner or later.

She was wearing her hair down and Tohru offered to curl it into orderly spirals for her first day of school. Her uniform matched Momiji's own and she was wearing the long-sleeved shirt. She was wearing a pair of short white socks with her brown shoes. She had on a cute hat that Momiji insisted she wore on her first day. It was a pale silver to match her eyes and matched one that he usually wore.

"Start by looking there… We'll keep an eye out for it, too," Yukiko stopped at the familiar voice as she drew closer to it. Looking up, Yukiko saw Yuki talking to a boy and a girl. "What's your name and class?" Yukiko stopped a few meters away to listen.

"I'm Arimori Satomi! Fifteen years old!" Yukiko heard before she blocked the annoying girls out. They were currently fawning over Yuki and crowding around him. Deciding to cut in and save Yuki, Yukiko started running down the hall towards him.

"Yuki!" Yukiko called before she smashed into him with a hug. She was grateful to finally find someone she knew in this big school. He gave the books he was holding to the boy next to him before slightly hugging her back. Yukiko ignored the girls' outrageous accusations behind her and looked up at Yuki's smiling face.

"Hello, Yukiko. Where is Hatori?" Yuki asked as she let go of him.

"I got lost so I thought that I would look for someone. Can you help me?" Yuki asked as she bounced on her heels.

"Of course. Let me put these books up real quick and then we'll go," Yuki replied walking into the room with the books.

While Yuki put the books away, she remembered a scene that she thought was humorous from this morning.

-

"Yes, well, Hatsuharu and Momiji… they're like younger brothers to me," Shigure said while eating breakfast. Yukiko was sitting next to him and watching him. "And of course I definitely have to be there for my young niece." He added smiling cheerfully down at Yukiko. She grinned back up at him in response before turning back to her food. "So naturally, I will have to attend the entrance ceremony. It's only right that I should be there to support them on such an important day."

Yukiko noticed everyone looking at Shigure with suspicious expressions. Shigure must have noticed it also.

"Okay, why are you all staring at me like that?" Shigure asked. "I hope you're not thinking I only want to go look at all of the pretty high-school girls? Tsk, tsk, tsk… Oh, my word. You youngsters of little faith."

"Uncle Shigure? Why would you want to go look at them?" Yukiko asked curiously.

"Not you too… Well don't worry you're prettier than them anyways," Shigure said carelessly.

"You sicko!" Kyo screamed jumping up. Yuki scooted Yukiko over next to him while glaring at Shigure.

"What? I didn't mean anything by that," Shigure said pouting at the accusations.

-

Yukiko giggled slightly as she remembered the outraged look on Kyo's face.

"What's funny?" Yuki asked, apparently finished with his task.

"Nothing at all. Let's go find the others now," Yukiko said pulling on Yuki's wrist to go down the hall.

"Yukiko," Yuki started while stopping her progress down the hall. She looked up at him waiting for what he was going to say. "I believe they may be that way." He pointed down the hall behind them.

"Oh right!" Yukiko agreed before dragging him the other way laughing. They soon came upon the group including: Momiji, Hatsuharu, Tohru, and Kyo. They seemed to be fighting about something.

"What the… Momiji, what in the world are you wearing?" Yuki asked as they walked up to the group. He was interrupted by Momiji pouncing happily on Yukiko.

"Yukiko! There you are! We lost you and looked all over," Momiji gushed.

"I found Yuki," Yukiko stated trying to loosen Momiji's grip. Haru floated over to Yuki and grasped his shirt. Yukiko walked over to Kyo while the others talked about Yuki's work.

"Hi Kyo!" Yukiko exclaimed beaming.

"Hey," Kyo said simply not looking at her. Yukiko was about to say something else when their attention was grabbed by Momiji.

"Hey, listen! Listen!" Momiji said waving his arms around. "I'm really not supposed to goof around too much when I'm here… 'Cause if I do, it'll be too easy for me to crash into girls! Well except for Yukiko," He added pulling the girl near him. "So, I'm gonna try to play it cool at school!"

"How the hell can you call wearin' a dress cool!" Kyo screamed.

"But I match Yukiko! We can be twins!" Momiji exclaimed happily.

"What does that have to do with wearing the girls' uniform?" asked Kyo again.

"A valid point, Kyo Sohma, Class 2-D!" said a voice from behind them. They turned to see a geeky looking guy with two girls on either side. "And while I find that orange head of yours disagreeable, I will ignore it for the moment. What I cannot ignore, is a boy who would wear a girl's uniform to school! This goes beyond outrageous!"

Yukiko ignored him while he ranted and looked out the window watching everyone chatting with others.

"I can tell already that you're going to be a problem student. And the same goes for you, Hatsuharu and Yukiko Sohma!" the guy said bringing Yukiko back to reality at her name. "I will not tolerate that white hair! Or those gaudy necklaces! Or your green hair, young missy!" He pointed to Yukiko's long curly hair.

"President Takei… it's their natural color," Yuki said trying to prevent a fight.

"Oh Yuki, so nice to see you…" Takei interrupted. "But natural color! I can see that his hairline is black!"

"Yes, that's natural too…" Yuki said once more.

"That's ridiculous, I don't believe it," Takei said. Yukiko was tiring of this guy. She wanted to find her class so she knew where it was, not be accused of dying her hair.

"And I suppose wearing this dress is natural for you, Momiji Sohma!" Takei kept talking as Yukiko noticed Haru cleaning out his ear. He looked unexpectedly calm for someone who was just wrongfully accused. "Have you no pride as a man! You had best change your ways, and your clothes!"

Yukiko stopped listening once again as she noticed something out the window. Down under one of the walkways, a man stood there. She couldn't tell from being so far away, but it looked like he wasn't much older than Yuki. Turning her eyes back onto the scene behind her, she noticed that Haru was now calmly talking to Takei, but he was doing it quite rudely.

Yukiko didn't really pay attention to what Haru was saying to Takei, she was wondering who that person could be. He wasn't wearing the uniform to the school, so he should be a visitor. Yukiko was interrupted from her musings as Momiji offered her a lollipop. She took it but didn't notice that the guy from the window glanced up at their window before returning to what he was doing. She stood next to Momiji, happily licking her lollipop, as Haru dragged the school's president away.

Haru came back out a couple of minutes later and the president ran away screaming.

"So, who the hell were those people anyway?" Momiji asked.

"Beats the hell outta me," Haru replied.

"I don't like them very much. Well, um… Haru? What did you show him?" Yukiko asked watching Haru still in his black persona.

"Why don't you come with me and see for yourself?" Haru asked pulling her closer to him suggestively. After Haru got this out, Yuki and Kyo hit him on the head.

"Um… So how did he?" Tohru asked.

"Never mind… Don't worry about it, Miss Honda…" Yuki replied turning towards Yukiko. "Are you alright?"

"Of course," Yukiko said before pulling her lollipop out of her pocket and sticking it in her mouth. "It didn't break." Kyo looked at her like she was crazy.

"Oh hey, there's the bell," Tohru announced as the bell did in fact ring throughout the school.

"Guess we better get to our classrooms, huh?" Momiji asked.

"Oh yea, I remembered. Yukiko doesn't know where it is, can you take her?" Yuki asked Momiji and Haru.

"Sure!" Momiji said ready to drag the girl down the hall as he was used to doing.

"Oh yeah… If you'd like, maybe after school I could introduce you to my friends!" Tohru suggested.

"I'd love to meet your friends!" Momiji said excitedly.

"Good! They'll be so happy! We'll come find you again later, okay?" Tohru asked walking off to her class.

"Um, actually… Yuki, Kyo! I have something I need to tell you. Could you stay for a minute?" asked Momiji before they could leave. Tohru left and the boys stayed behind.

"So… what do you want to tell us? This sure as hell better be important," Kyo ranted unhappily.

"Uh-huh," Momiji nodded sadly. Yukiko heard him say something about a guy being at the school.

"Yukiko! Let's go find Tohru and Hatori!" Yuki said.

"Why?" Yukiko wondered. She found no reason to skip class to find them. She would see them later. Maybe it had something to do with this guy.

"Not right now, come on," Yuki said pulling her along as quickly as he could hoping to find Tohru. They ran out onto the pathway that Yukiko saw the man on earlier.

Coming to a halt they saw Tohru and the same guy Yukiko noticed. Tohru looked a bit frightened and Yukiko wondered why.

Yuki pushed her slightly behind him as he walked up to Tohru and the guy.

"Akito!" Yuki warned. The guy turned to them and Yukiko could feel Yuki trembling in front of her. She knew that name though. Akito, the reason her mother had to flee to Europe. The reason why her mother and father weren't together right now.

"There you are… I've missed you, Yuki…" Akito said and Yukiko peaked around Yuki too look at that smooth voice's owner. "It feels like such a long time since we last saw each other, doesn't it?" Yuki pushed Yukiko further behind him as Akito drew closer. He wasn't supposed to let Akito find out about her. He shouldn't have brought her with him, why did he? Oh yea, he was going to leave her with Hatori and keep her safe with him.

"What did you do…?" Yuki asked still shocked.

"You look so grown up now. And I think you've even gotten taller…" Akito said ignoring Yuki's question.

"What did you do?" Yuki asked slower and less shaky. "Tell me, what did you do to Miss Honda!"

"Nothing at all… We were simply introducing ourselves," Akito said barely glancing at Yuki's side. "Which brings me to a point, who is that hiding behind you? I don't believe I know her."

"None of your business," Yuki replied trying to draw Akito's attention back on himself.

"Ah ah, Yuki. You can't hide anything from me," Akito said. "Now that I have you here Yuki, there is something I've been dying to ask you…" He brought his hand to Yuki's face. "Why did you skip the New Year's banquet? Why would you think to do such a thing? I've been quite tolerant lately, have I not? And the fact that you would do something like that… You should know, it hurts me deeply. Perhaps… I need to take some time to re-educate you… In that little room. The one I keep especially for you…"

Yukiko gasped. She heard every word that Akito said to Yuki. She looked up to see Yuki shaking more than ever. And to his left… Akito was staring straight down at Yukiko as he talked to Yuki. He had a sadistic grin on his face and noticed her looking at him.

"Wha!" Yukiko cried out as she felt herself being pulled by her forearm. Akito had grabbed her arm and dragged her out from behind Yuki. Akito took a few steps back from Yuki with Yukiko still in his grasp. She stood in front of him while he petted her hair to further taunt Yuki.

"Stop!" Yuki yelled watching Akito. He was afraid what Akito would do if he knew the truth about Yukiko and her father.

"Who is she, Yuki? If you don't feel like telling me, then don't. I have a good guess anyways. She does look familiar though doesn't she," Akito said as he still held Yukiko up to him. "Like… a… little… dragon…" With every word he said, Akito's grin grew wider and his grip stronger.

"No," Yuki said as he watched pain etch itself slightly on Yukiko's face.

"No? Somehow Yuki, I don't believe that was the answer I was looking for," Akito drawled. "Why don't you tell me, sweet… Yukiko?"

Yuki and Yukiko both gasped. How did he know her name?

"Ah, I do believe I can research very thoroughly if I wish," Akito said in response to their frightened looks. "And I assume that Hatori will be… reprimanded… for not thinking to tell me."

Tohru watched Yuki's face and knew that something was wrong. Without thinking, she pushed Akito away from Yukiko. She looked up in shock at what she had done and made up an excuse.

"Oh, I uh… I'm sorry… It's just that… I think we need to be getting back to class now… We're really late…" Tohru trailed off at her lame excuse.

"I understand… Sorry to keep you," Akito said. "I suppose I should be getting back to Shigure and the others as well… they must be worried by now… Yuki, I do hope you enjoy this new school year, and I would be very happy if you paid me a visit sometime soon." He walked off after saying this and Yuki looked like he was going to pass out.

Yukiko stood there in complete alarm.

'How… How did he know?' she thought before her knees collapsed and she fell to the ground.

"Yukiko!" Tohru gasped and brought Yuki back to reality.

--

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Tohru asked once they had gotten Yukiko back to her classroom.

"Yes, thank you. See you guys later," Yukiko said before walking into the classroom. She was obviously late as every head turned to stare at her in the room. She walked slowly up to the teacher who was a middle-aged lady. She looked very nice in her tan dress suit. She also had shoulder length copper hair and green eyes.

"Ah, here is Miss Sohma now," the teacher said as Yukiko walked over to her. "Seeing as it is your first day, I'll let you off with a warning for now. I'm Miss Chino. Welcome to my class." She bowed to Yukiko who mimicked her movements still in shock of what happened earlier.

"Thank you," Yukiko replied. Miss Chino looked around the room for an empty desk and pointed to one, thankfully, between Haru and Momiji.

"There's one. Why don't you sit there for now?" Miss Chino asked as Yukiko went to sit down. When Yukiko sat down, Miss Chino started to explain everything about her class.

"What happened?" Haru whispered to her from her left. She shook her head in reply and kept her attention on the teacher.

"I'll tell you later," Yukiko finally answered before getting out a book to read as per teacher's instruction.

--

After school, everyone was gathered to play a game with Tohru's friends. Yukiko still hadn't told Haru and Momiji what happened but she didn't really want to.

"Rock… Paper… Scissors…" everyone said as they tried to decide teams. Tohru's friends were really nice and were happy to meet another girl to be added in their group. They took to her as much as they did Tohru as she was younger and needed their "protection."

"So, then… We've picked teams, but what now? What are the rules?" Yuki asked stopping Kyo's and Uo's fight.

"Huh? What are you talking' about?" Uo asked turning to him.

"Rules are useless in badminton," Hana said. "You hit the birdie as hard as you can. Your opponent will try to do the same. If you must call it a rule, then the first person to collapse from exhaustion loses…" She explained as everyone sweatdropped at what she said.

They got into their teams and went to the different sides. Yukiko got picked on Hana, Kyo, and Haru's team. Yuki, Momiji, Tohru, and Uo were on the other side.

"Okay, all set!" Momiji exclaimed. Yukiko was standing up front next to Kyo with Haru behind her and Hana behind Kyo.

"Yuki! Are you ready to play now?" Yukiko asked from her side of the net. Yuki nodded slightly in response.

"Here it comes!" Uo said as she hit the birdie onto the other side. Yukiko giggled as she ran to hit it onto the other side to be caught by Yuki opposite of her.

--

"Do you know what he had to say about Tohru? He said she was ugly," Shigure said as he was sitting with Hatori on his back porch. "Yes, while we were riding home in the car today… It's understandable, I guess. With as long as Yuki suffered Akito's mental abuse, it's only natural he'd carry some scars. You know, he also told me that he met Yukiko."

Hatori turned to Shigure quickly in alarm.

"What did he say?" Hatori asked.

"Not much, it seems that he already knew about her and he was happy to see her. He didn't mention anything about her mother though. I don't think he's too mad at you seeing as you didn't know. I'm just afraid that he might turn it against her," Shigure explained. Hatori relaxed slightly hoping that Shigure's concern wasn't right.

"She'll be fine, don't worry Hatori," Shigure said in hopes to soothe the tense dragon. "And getting back on subject, despite what he said, Tohru is very cute… in a sweet way…"

"For some reason… when you say that, it reeks of something illegal, 'Uncle Shigure!'" Hatori said looking at the too innocent Shigure.

"Heh heh," Shigure laughed nervously backing away from Hatori slightly.

"You better not be saying anything like that about Yukiko," Hatori warned before continuing to smoke his cigarette.

Shigure mastered his innocent look, but not before remembering a certain incident from this morning at breakfast. He backed further away from Hatori hoping that the other man could not read minds.

--

Bwahaha. Had to add that again. It was too funny not to. Anyways, hope you liked this chapter as much as I did. Please review and let me know what you think. Thanks to anyone who reviewed for previous chapters.

Love, Archer


	9. Flamboyant Visit and Dinner

Well, well, well… okay here's yet another chapter dedicated to… um… you guys! Yeah! Anyways, forgive me if this chapter is a bit weird cause I've been watching Foamy, if that means anything to some of you. If not, just know that he's a neurotic cursing squirrel. No lie. If you want to watch him, go to illwillpress with the www and the .com (I had to write it like this so it shows up). Anyways, have fun with this chapter and review if you feel like it. My favorite character (one of them) appears so I'm happy for now.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket but I do own Yukiko.

Innocence  
Chapter 8  
Flamboyant Visit and Dinner

"So, it's almost May. Some of these should be ready to pick soon, right?" Tohru asked as Yuki, Yukiko, and she sat in his 'secret base.'

"Uh-huh… I'd say, the carrots, the turnips… the leeks," Yuki replied.

"Um… Yuki?" Yukiko asked as she softly felt some of the vegetables.

"Yes Yukiko?" Yuki replied as he watched her.

"Do you think… maybe we could plant some peaches?" Yukiko asked looking at him with the puppy dog eyes.

"Sure," Yuki said smiling. Tohru was sitting next to Yukiko and was laughing.

"Oh that would be fun. I love peaches," Tohru said happily.

"Hmm… The strawberries are almost ready also. They should be delicious," Yuki added looking at the garden. Tohru suddenly sneezed startling Yukiko who was watching some bugs crawling on leaves.

"Are you okay?" Yuki asked. Yukiko had fallen over in alarm at Tohru's sneeze.

"I'm fine… I guess it's just a little chillier out here than I expected," Tohru replied helping Yukiko sit back up.

"In that case… We're almost done here…" Yuki started. Tohru was only wearing a dress and her legs were probably cold. Yukiko had done the same because she wanted to play dress up before they left. Tohru and Yukiko's friendship had grown and they were a lot like sisters. Tohru picked out an outfit for Yukiko and they laughed the whole time.

Yukiko had on a light pinkish-white shirt that had scrunched up short sleeves. She had on a pair of light brown pants like Kyo's that were a little loose. Around her neck was a burgundy choker with a big gold bell in the front. On top of her head was a pair of fluffy cat ears that matched her shirt. It was a headband that she found in her room. Kyo hadn't seen her outfit but he would certainly say something about the ears. Her dark green hair was in a messy ponytail, compliments of Tohru.

"Why don't you go on back to the house?" Yuki suggested to Tohru and Yukiko.

"Oh… are you sure…?" asked Tohru. Yuki's stomach growled making Tohru and Yukiko giggle at his embarrassment. "Okay, when you put it like that! I'll go back and make us something to eat." Tohru got up and walked up the path back to the house.

"We can go get some peach seeds later if you want, Yukiko," Yuki said.

"Alright," Yukiko replied cheerily at the thought of having peaches again. Her thoughts were interrupted by a scream in the distance. They both rushed up and ran down the path thinking the same thing.

"Tohru!"

--

"Ah, dammit, I'm hungry!" Kyo ranted as his stomach growled again.

"Tohru should be back soon… Try being patient for once," Shigure said calmly, reading the newspaper.

"Forget it! I'll just make something myself," Kyo spat walking into the kitchen.

"Hold on, Kyo… I have a better idea," Shigure said. "You can snack on these to tide you over until Tohru gets home…"

"Are you crazy! You know damn well I hate miso!" Kyo screamed throwing the bowl out of his face.

"You know… You really shouldn't waste food like that… Terrible…" Shigure screeched at Kyo watching the bowl and food. They turned as they heard the door open. "There, you see? Here they are… now…" Yuki stuck a snake in Shigure's face.

"You want lunch? Here. Skin this and eat it," Yuki said. Tohru and Yukiko entered the room behind. Yukiko shrieked at what Yuki said and grabbed the snake from him.

"What? You can't eat this poor snake. It's a living thing. Can I keep him Uncle Shigure?" Yukiko asked the shocked man while she cuddled the snake to her chest happily.

"Uh… is that Aya?" Shigure asked looking closely at the snake.

"He belongs to someone already?" Yukiko asked tears welling up at not being able to have a pet.

"Oh it is! But… what is he doing here?" Shigure asked. Yukiko looked down longingly at the snake she wanted to keep.

"Never mind! Just skin this thing and eat it!" Yuki advised glaring at the snake.

"No!" Yukiko cried hiding the snake from Yuki's eyes.

"Hold on… I think both of you need to calm down," Shigure said soothingly. He petted Yukiko on the head to calm her fierce stare at Yuki.

"Why can't I keep him?" Yukiko asked. Shigure tried not to laugh at the thought of Ayame as a pet.

--

"I still don't see why I can't keep him," Yukiko muttered as she sat on her bed working on her homework. Shigure and the others were downstairs talking about something. Shigure suggested Yukiko go finish her homework. He already let her put it off to go to Yuki's base.

Yukiko jumped when she heard raised voices coming from downstairs. Getting up, Yukiko walked down the stairs and into the room the others were in. She walked into the room in time to hear Shigure and someone else shout yes.

The man standing next to Shigure had long silver hair and yellow eyes. Walking further into the room she wondered who he was.

Kyo was the first to notice her and gawked at her for some reason. She figured it was because she hadn't changed from what she was wearing earlier and still had the headband on.

"What the hell are you wearing!" Kyo screamed at Yukiko's temporary ears. Everyone turned to see what he was yelling about and saw Yukiko's surprised face.

"Um… clothes?" Yukiko said nervously.

"No, why the hell do you have cat ears on your head?" Kyo asked again.

"Why not? Aren't they just adorable on her?" Shigure asked sliding over to the lithe girl and rubbing the ears on her headband.

"Oh who's this?" Ayame asked going over to Yukiko also and looking her over. "This can't be my little niece that I heard so much about from Shigure here, is it?"

Shigure laughed and replied, "It is. Ayame, this is Yukiko. Yukiko, this is your other uncle, Ayame. He used to go to school with Hatori and me."

"Oh! Hello, Uncle Ayame," Yukiko said bowing slightly.

"Oh no, no, no! None of that," Ayame said pulling her upright. "Yes, we'll need some time to get acquainted. I suggest we go out for dinner. Yes, perfect."

"Um… is that okay, Uncle Shigure?" Yukiko asked.

"Of course it is," Shigure replied.

"Goody. Shigure, do you think you can take her to my store? My assistant will dress her up all nicely. We'll be going to a nice restaurant and get to know each other," Ayame said happily to Shigure. Shigure nodded then turned to Tohru.

"By the way, this is the one and only Tohru Honda!" Shigure announced. "You came to see her today also, right?"

"Oh, yes that's right! I'm sorry about earlier… I am Yuki's older brother… Ayame…" Ayame said, respectfully bowing to Tohru.

"Oh, right! Pleased to meet you!" Tohru said.

"So, you really do exist… The princess I've… heard so much about," Yukiko heard Ayame say before she walked into the kitchen in search of a drink. She walked over to the fridge and pulled out a container of white grape juice, pouring herself a glass.

"You never answered my question," said a voice scaring Yukiko. She spun around to see who was talking to her and saw Kyo. "Why are you wearing cat ears?"

"Oh, um… I found them in my room and just put them on. Tohru liked them and I wanted to make her happy," Yukiko replied shyly watching her feet. "Kyo, you're part of the zodiac right?" He leaned back against the counter and stared at her.

"Yea, what of it?" Kyo asked closing his eyes.

"I was just wondering which animal you were," Yukiko said putting her now empty glass in the sink next to Kyo.

"It doesn't matter," Kyo replied fiddling with his bracelet a bit.

"Oh, okay," Yukiko said. "I guess I better get ready to go to Ayame's store." She turned to leave the kitchen when a hand on her wrist stopped her. She looked back to see Kyo watching her.

"I'll… um… go with you if you want," Kyo said nervously.

"Sure. I'd like that," Yukiko replied pleasantly before skipping out of the room. Kyo shook his head as a small smile grew on his face.

--

"So this is it?" Yukiko asked standing outside of Ayame's dress store.

"I guess," Kyo replied looking disgusted at the shop.

"Well, let's go in, shall we?" Yukiko asked before taking Kyo's hand and walking into the store. She had changed earlier into something warmer, so she wouldn't get cold outside. She had on a peach colored dress that was sticking out slightly at the bottom under her brown coat. Over the coat, was a small peach shawl to cover her shoulders and had a dark red tie on it. To match her coat, she had a brown hat that looked similar to the ones Momiji always wore. Brown boots completed her outfit, and went halfway up her calves like most of her other shoes.

Inside the store, they were greeted with a hyper woman. She bounded over to them when they walked in.

"Oh, you must be Yukiko. Ayame called and told me you would be coming. How lucky you are, going to such a nice restaurant!" the lady exclaimed. "Oh, I'm Mine. Nice to meet you!"

"The pleasure's all mine," Yukiko said politely smiling at Mine.

"Alright then. Shall we get you ready then?" Mine said. Not waiting for a reply, she dragged Yukiko into a back room leaving Kyo to get comfortable in a chair.

After a while, Mine popped back into the front room bouncing up to Kyo.

"She's ready and I must say gorgeous! Ayame is going to be so proud!" Mine said happily. She went back to the door and grabbed a shy Yukiko from behind the door.

"Here the little beauty queen is!" Mine exclaimed pushing Yukiko in front of her. Yukiko blushed under Kyo's avid stare and shuffled her feet.

Kyo's eyes bulged when he saw what Yukiko was wearing. She had on a white dress that had short sleeves. The sleeves were scrunched up around her arms. Between her chest and waist, a burgundy ribbon was tied and the ends hung down past the dress itself. The bottom half of the dress was bunched and hung around her. It looked pleated and was cut in different lengths, the longest going down to her ankles. The neckline of the dress was split and was cut down until the ribbon. The bottom was unlike anything he had seen before, not of the parts of it were the same length. She also had on a plain burgundy choker and matching boots. The boots had a thin, small heel and the tops were scrunched around her ankles.

"Well, how does she look?" Mine asked, obviously impatient at Kyo's silence.

"Fine, now let's go," Kyo said turning around embarrassed. He didn't want to admit to himself how beautiful she actually looked. Especially with her hair straightened and hanging down to her waist.

"Is that all you have to say? Don't worry sweetie, he's probably just embarrassed by your adorableness," Mine chirped. Kyo turned around to yell at her when he noticed Yukiko looking sadly at the ground. Sighing, he walked up to her and raised her gaze to him.

"You look beautiful," Kyo said blushing a bit. Yukiko gave him a small smile, and Mine clapped happily.

"Thank you," Yukiko whispered before lowering her eyes again.

"Now that's more like it!" Mine said.

"Shut up! Come on already," Kyo said pulling Yukiko towards the door.

"Wait, here's your other clothes. And a coat," Mine said holding out a bag to Yukiko. Yukiko barely had the chance to yell thank you and take the bag before Kyo dragged her out the door.

"It's cold out, put that coat on," Kyo ordered noticing her shiver in the chilly weather. She nodded and reached in the bag. Pulling out a coat matching her boots and necklace, she put it on happily.

"Everything matches," Yukiko said following Kyo to the house.

"Yeah, yeah. Walk faster," Kyo said grumpily. Yukiko just started skipping beside him, annoying him further.

--

Walking down the stairs later, Yukiko noticed Kyo stopped on a step with his hand on the wall. She went up behind him and started at his surprised expression. She heard talking in the room at the bottom of the stairs and whispered to Kyo.

"What's happening?" Yukiko asked. Kyo turned slightly towards her, still listening to Yuki and Tohru.

"Tohru's back. Ayame should be with her," Kyo said. They both listened to Yuki and Tohru again.

"I wouldn't say I… dislike him… He's just a little too much for me sometimes…" Yuki said.

"Well, if that's all, we can overcome it!" They heard Ayame say. "I will do all in my power to meet you half-way, my brother!" Yukiko giggled as Kyo fell down the last couple of stairs in shock.

"Uh… you see… it got really cold on the way home from the restaurant, and he transformed!" Tohru explained as Yukiko jumped down the steps to help Kyo up.

"Stop laughing!" Kyo yelled at Yukiko as he stood up.

"Sorry," Yukiko said as she still giggled.

"And he said that if snakes get too cold, they can die!" Tohru kept talking as she didn't hear Kyo and Yukiko.

"Well I am a snake," Ayame agreed.

"You may be a snake, but you're no brother of mine!" Yuki said grabbing Ayame.

"You can't change the truth, Yuki!" Ayame shouted laughing.

"Ah, welcome back, you two," Shigure said watching them fight.

"Shigure… Have you picked out a place for me to sleep tonight?" Ayame asked, still a snake. Yukiko and Kyo were just watching the others, waiting to be noticed.

"Oh? You're staying over?" Shigure asked. Yukiko giggled before walking back upstairs. Noticing Yukiko gone, Kyo followed her and stopped her from shutting her door.

"Yes, Kyo?" Yukiko asked.

"Tell me if he does anything," Kyo ordered. He didn't wait for an answer before entering his own room and slamming his door shut. Yukiko sighed before walking into her room.

--

"Oh Yukiko! Are you ready?" Yukiko heard a shout from downstairs later at night. She kept messing with her dress, trying not to let it show too much.

"Um… Yes!" Yukiko replied exiting her room and walking down the stairs.

She was met downstairs by Ayame, Shigure, Tohru, and Yuki. Kyo was probably still in his room or on the roof.

Ayame flounced over to her when she walked into the room. Yuki's jaw dropped, Tohru started rambling about how cute Yukiko looked, and Shigure started on his high school girls song.

"Mine certainly did an excellent job. This is my creation and I don't think it could have been made for a more perfect person!" Ayame said before dragging Yukiko out the door.

"Bye guys," Yukiko yelled back to the others. Tohru threw Yukiko her coat before Ayame pulled her out of the house.

"Have fun!" Tohru said back. Yukiko waved again before disappearing from view with Ayame.

--

"So you're going to school with Haru and Momiji right?" Ayame asked as they ate their dinners. It was one of the only Italian restaurants in the city and they both ordered spaghetti.

"That's right. I'm excited about being in the same class. They're both very helpful and nice," Yukiko said.

"Kyo isn't bothering you, is he? Sometimes he can be forceful or say terrible things," Ayame explained.

"Oh no! I understand completely if he says anything. I don't blame him," Yukiko said softly. "He's just has trouble controlling his temper. I can't get upset at him."

"That's good. At least someone doesn't get hurt from his comments. He's just had a rough time," Ayame sighed.

"What animal is he?" Yukiko wondered. Kyo hadn't told her but Ayame might.

"You're going to have to ask him. It's not my place to, no matter how much I want to though," Ayame muttered at the end. They finished their meal talking about various things before leaving.

"I want you to keep that dress. I don't think I could ever find someone else that looks right in it," Ayame declared happily. "And since you're my niece, you get it for free!"

"Oh! Are you sure? I couldn't ask for such a beautiful thing," Yukiko said, nervously touching her dress.

"Of course I'm sure," Ayame said. They walked up to the house and walked inside. Ayame stopped her and bowed deeply to Yukiko.

"Thank you for such a wonderful night, Yukiko," Ayame said.

"Oh no, thank you for taking me," Yukiko replied, mimicking his actions before kissing his cheek politely. "Goodnight, Uncle Ayame." She walked to her room to get ready for bed. She fell to sleep after grabbing one of her teddy bears and burying herself under the covers.

--

"AHHHH!" Yukiko woke up to a scream reverberating throughout the house. She rushed out to the room that the yell was issuing from. Kyo's door slammed open and Yukiko found Ayame grabbing Kyo.

"Hush, I'm still sleeping," Ayame said pulling Kyo closer to him. Yukiko stood there shocked while Kyo screamed at Ayame.

"Uh… Kyo, are you alright?" Yukiko asked inching out the door.

"Get him away from me!" Kyo yelped at her. She covered her mouth to smother her giggles with her hand before rushing away from the room.

--

"Why the hell didn't you go to Shigure's room? Like yesterday?" Kyo asked Ayame as they sat down for breakfast.

"Because… if I had… Shigure would've kept me up all night," Ayame said.

"Aya… not in front of the children, please," Shigure said calmly.

"Oh, cut it out!" Kyo yelled at the two.

"Don't worry… If it bothers you that much, tonight I'll sleep with Yukiko, my cute little niece," Ayame exclaimed. Yukiko backed away from him a little bumping into Shigure, who grinned down at her.

"You will not!" Kyo and Yuki both shouted at the same time, appearing behind Ayame.

--

"Really! Aya's there? I haven't seen him since New Year's!" Momiji said.

Momiji and Tohru were talking while Tohru swept the ground. Haru and Yukiko were sitting under a tree not too far away from them. Haru had a butterfly in between his hands and Yukiko was watching him amazed. He smiled at her awed face.

"So I heard you went to dinner with Ayame," Haru said to Yukiko.

"Ah… Yeah, it was fun. I got to have one of his dresses in his shop," Yukiko replied. "It's really pretty and he let me keep it."

"I'd like to see it sometime," Haru said letting go of the butterfly when they saw Yuki walk by.

"Hey, Haru… Is it weird for Aya to leave his shop? I mean he is the owner," Momiji said suddenly.

"Oh? So you mean Ayame runs his own business?" Tohru asked.

"That's right… He sells outfits for nurses, stewardesses, maids, things like that…" Haru replied. Momiji and Tohru walked up quickly to hear more about Ayame's store.

"So then, he makes… uniforms?" Tohru asked.

"Well, uh… not exactly," Haru said.

"But the dress he gave me didn't look like any one of those would wear it," Yukiko added slightly confused.

"He doesn't just make it for them. He designs dresses also for special occasions," Haru explained.

"Aya says he makes fantasies come true!" Momiji exclaimed loudly. Haru sighed at the confused expressions on Tohru and Yukiko's faces.

--

"My, my! This is unexpected!" Ayame said as Yuki, Kyo, Tohru, and Yukiko walked in from school. He was drinking tea with Shigure and there was an album on the table.

"Dammit!" Kyo seethed.

"He's here…" Yuki said defeated.

"Welcome back!" Shigure said cheerfully.

"But how nice! You boys wanted to see me so badly you came straight home from school… And here I thought Tohru and I would have the whole afternoon to ourselves," Yukiko heard Ayame say as she walked out the door to put her backpack in her room. She exited a minute later and walked towards Kyo's room.

'I wonder if he'll get mad that I going to his spot,' Yukiko thought. She walked into his room and over to the ladder leading to the roof. Once on the roof, Yukiko slid over a few feet before lying down on her back. She noticed Ayame leave with Hatori after a while. She needed to talk to her father soon because he wasn't visiting like he promised.

"Why are you up here?" Yukiko heard from beside her and turned to see Kyo.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted somewhere to relax for a while," Yukiko responded. He sighed before sitting down next to her.

"Only for today," Kyo said. They sat in silence before Yukiko became uncomfortable.

"Kyo, you still haven't told me what zodiac animal you represent," Yukiko said trying for conversation.

"I told you it didn't matter!" Kyo said quickly.

"I was just curious. It doesn't matter to me, I wanted to know though," Yukiko explained.

"It's none of your business," Kyo interrupted before she could say anything else. Yukiko quieted before her eyes caught sight of his bracelet of black and white beads.

"Okay, well, why do you wear those beads?" Yukiko asked hoping he wouldn't get angry again.

"Shut up! I told you it's none of your business!" Kyo shouted. Yukiko looked at him depressingly before leaving the roof through Kyo's room. Kyo flinched as he heard his door slam. He had an expression of deep thought for a moment, before shaking his head and scowling.

--

Okay, well this was a super long chapter and I'm glad it's finished. Well, I'm having trouble figuring out whom to pair Yukiko with. There's many choices and I love them all. It's either Yuki, Momiji, Kyo, or Haru. Let me know what you think. No promises though that's what I'll do, but it may give me more incentive. I'm sorta leaning towards Kyo (actually a lot of leaning) but I like the others also. Anyways, review and tell me what ya thought. Oh, I might put up pictures on a website of all Yukiko's outfits so you know what they look like. I'll let you guys know about it.

Love, Archer


	10. Yukiko's Last Prayer

Sorry for the long wait! Well, I might be able to update this more often cause I finished my other story. Alrighty, well I don't really have much to say, except that I'm considering about making a prequel to this story about Yukiko's mom and Hatori. If you would like me to write it, let me know what you think. Oh my gosh, I so cried while watching the episode to this chapter. Poor Momiji, I love him to death and hearing him talk about his mother and everything just made me soooo sad! I feel sorry for him, I won't be writing that part in this chapter but most of you reading this already knows what happened. Okay, well enjoy!

Innocence  
Chapter 9  
Yukiko's Last Prayer

"Yeah… It's the first anniversary of Mom's death, so we're going to her grave," Yukiko heard as she headed back towards the house. Kyo was sitting on the porch drinking from a milk carton. He noticed Yukiko's shocked expression as she stopped walking.

"What's wrong with you?" Kyo asked as she started to tremble. Her head turned to him quickly, noticing him for the first time. She shook her head and turned to walk back the way she came from. "Hey! I asked you a question!"

He watched her walk away and disappear from sight. He wondered what was bothering her and why she seemed alarmed at what Tohru said.

--

Yukiko kept walking until she reached Yuki's secret base. They had planted the peach trees a while ago and it would take a couple years before any peaches would be fit for eating. Some of the other fruits were ready to be picked, including the cherries. Sitting down, Yukiko started to pick some random fruits and placed them in a basket she had brought earlier.

Yukiko wasn't really bothered by the fact that Tohru was visiting her mother, it was more that fact that she didn't want to be part of the conversation. She really wanted to go and be there for Tohru but it made her think of her own mother.

After collecting enough fruits, Yukiko walked back towards the house in search of Yuki. If he was going, surely he would let her come along. She was in luck today finding him in the kitchen where she was headed.

"Yuki?" Yukiko started to ask while putting the basket on the counter. He turned towards her and spotted her basket.

"Oh, did you go to my secret base?" Yuki asked plucking up a cherry.

"Yes, I was going to make some deserts with it. If that's okay?" Yukiko questioned.

"Certainly. Would you like me to help?" Yuki asked.

"Of course! I would like that. But um… I wanted to ask you something. You're going with Tohru tomorrow right?" Yukiko asked. Yuki nodded in response. "Do you think I would be able to go also?"

"You would have to ask Tohru," Yuki said.

"Oh okay. Maybe later," Yukiko said solemnly. They ended the conversation and started to make treats with the ripe fruit.

--

Later that day, Yukiko found a chance to talk to Tohru. She was folding laundry and Yukiko decided to help her, since Tohru was working on Yukiko's clothes.

"Can I do it?" Yukiko asked Tohru walking into the small room. Tohru turned to her surprised then she smiled.

"Of course," Tohru replied handing Yukiko the pile of her clothes. Yukiko sat in silence while she folded her belongings. They talked a bit about what Yuki and Yukiko made earlier that day.

When Yukiko finished, she walked over to Tohru bashfully and tugged slightly on Tohru's sleeves to get her attention.

"Ah… Tohru…" Yukiko started when Tohru looked down at her.

"Yes?" Tohru asked with her sweet smile still plastered on her face.

"Would it be okay… if I went… with you tomorrow?" Yukiko finally asked shyly. Tohru turned fully around and hugged Yukiko.

"I would love it if you came! Mom would love to meet you!" Tohru responded cheerfully. Yukiko nodded, grinning, and let Tohru finish the laundry. She took her basket of clothes to her room before deciding what she would wear tomorrow. It was a cemetery, so she would probably need to wear something black. Finding the perfect outfit, Yukiko got ready for bed.

Before going to sleep, Yukiko took out a stuffed animal frog that she had in her closet and went to lay down in her bed. She fell asleep within minutes, dreaming of how to make Tohru happy tomorrow on such a sad day.

--

"Sorta small, for a temple," Kyo complained once they arrived at the cemetery. Tohru was wearing a black dress and the boys were wearing their black school uniforms. The only black outfit Yukiko had was a short, black pleated skirt and a black long sleeved turtle neck shirt. The shirt had gold bangles around the sleeves to keep them from sliding up her arms. She also wore gold boots that scrunched at her ankles. Since Yukiko couldn't do her own hair, Tohru fixed it up for her in a smooth ponytail with a black ribbon to match her own.

"It's nice, isn't it? Just a quiet little place. It's kind of like home…" Tohru said. Yukiko looked up at Tohru's calm expression and smiled. Yukiko was holding a small dark blue bag with a white ribbon holding the handles together.

"I like it Tohru!" Yukiko exclaimed happily. Tohru smiled at Yukiko and nodded contently.

"You know… I'm glad to see we have such a nice day today. I'd say we're pretty fortunate, as bad as the weather's been lately," Yuki said.

"Yeah… it's like Mom's smiling down on us…" Tohru agreed. "After all, she has a lot to smile about. The three of you are coming to visit."

"Tohru… Do you think that my mum and yours are friends since they're both… well, do you think it's possible?" Yukiko asked following Yuki's gaze towards the sky and folding her hands together gently.

'I would love it if they were. Mum, I hope you're happy where you are. I know you are making tons of friends, like I am. You have no reason to worry anymore. I have great friends to care about and protect me for once. But, thanks for always being there.' Yukiko thought towards the vast sky, hoping her mother would hear her prayer.

"Of course! That would be wonderful!" Tohru cried cheerfully. "That means they're both smiling together!" Yukiko grinned with Tohru and nodded in agreement.

"I think my mum would be happy to meet all of you and know that I have such wonderful friends now," Yukiko said, bouncing up and down on her heels. Yuki and Kyo stared at her, she never really said anything about when she lived in Europe. They wondered how her life was there.

"Tohru!" the group heard someone call from behind them. They saw Uo and Hana walking up the stairs towards them. "Hey! Great day for visiting a grave, huh!"

"Yes!" Tohru replied.

"What the hell are you wearing?" Kyo asked when Uo and Hana stopped in front of them.

"What do you mean?" Uo asked. She was holding a bouquet of flowers.

"We're wearing black. What did you expect?" Hana asked.

"Not that!" Kyo screamed holding up a fist.

"Miss Uotani… that outfit you're wearing…" Yuki trailed on. "Well, is that a… trenchcoat?"

"Hm? Yeah, pretty sharp huh?" Uo asked. "I inherited this from Kyoko, back in the day. You are looking at the legendary "Red Butterfly's" riding jacket!"

"What's the Red Butterfly?" Yukiko wondered aloud.

"That's what they used to call Mom when she was in her gang!" Tohru explained. Yukiko's eyes widened in surprise.

All right! Everybody's here! Let's get this party started!" Uo called as she led the way to the grave. Yukiko followed Hana and Tohru, leaving the two boys behind in shock.

When they found the grave, it was cleaned up and was burning incense.

"That's weird," Uo said.

"It's already been cleaned up," Yuki stated the obvious.

"Guess somebody got here before us," Kyo interjected.

"It must've been Grandfather!" Tohru exclaimed. "He's the only other person I can think of who knows Mom's favorite food!" They saw a box of food on the carved stone.

"Your grandfather?" Yukiko and Kyo asked at the same time. Kyo glared at Yukiko while she giggled. Uo put her hand on Yukiko's head to congratulate her for ticking off Kyo. "Which side of the family did you say he was from?" Kyo asked again, this time without a backup.

"He's my grandfather on my father's side," Tohru answered. Uo and Hana were setting up the flowers and shifted their gaze to each other.

"Yeah, Kyoko and her parents weren't exactly on speaking terms…" Uo said.

"Your father… how did he…" Yuki wondered.

"He got sick, and just couldn't get better… That's what Mom told me…" Tohru said. Everyone was quiet for a minute then Yukiko broke the silence.

"Ah… I understand, Tohru. You see, that's how my mum died. She was sick for a while but she would get better within a couple days. That time though, she just couldn't hold on much longer," Yukiko said quietly. She was looking towards the ground and kicking her foot back and forth slightly. Nobody said anything, but the atmosphere was enough to say everything. Tohru bent down in front of her mom's grave.

"Hi mom. I came to see you," she said.

"We all came," Hana said.

"I guess your grandfather already did all the cleaning," Uo said placing the flowers she was holding down. "But we can still put these flowers up, huh?" Tohru nodded in answer.

"Yuki, did you see? Aren't these pretty flowers?" Tohru asked pulling Yuki out of his train of thought. Hana and Uo started to set up a blanket and Yukiko helped them. Yuki set the basket he was holding down and pulled food from it.

"Okay, it's all ready!" Tohru announced once everything was in place. Kyo complained once he saw the picnic, but Yukiko wasn't paying much attention. Her gaze was upon the blue bag she brought with her. They all ate while talking about whatever came to their minds. Yuki started a conversation with Uo while he ate.

Yukiko noticed that Tohru was finished with her meal and grabbed the bag.

"Tohru, can I talk to you for a minute?" Yukiko asked standing up.

"Sure!" Tohru replied, standing as well. They walked for awhile, barely noticing the others' eyes on them.

"Tohru, I would like to give you a present," Yukiko started handing the blue bag to Tohru. "And I also wanted to say thank you for everything that you have done so far. You are the first girl friend that I've ever had. And I'm giving this to you because I have more and they help at night."

Tohru pulled out what was in the bag and saw a brown teddy bear that had a pale yellow ribbon around its neck.

"Thank you Yukiko. I love it," Tohru stuttered, not really knowing what to say. "But, did you not have many friends in Europe?"

"Ah… no," Yukiko replied looking downwards once more. "See, they all thought I was weird, I guess. I was picked on a lot by the other kids and none of the girls liked me. So when you wanted to be my friend, it meant a lot to me. The Sohmas' and you have treated me so kindly and I'm so happy. You're like a big sister to me."

"You're a great friend also and I'm glad to have met you. And you're like a little sister also," Tohru replied hugging the smaller girl. They giggled and walked back to the group. Tohru was hugging her new stuffed animal close to her and smiling happily at Yukiko. Things were definitely perfect that day, with Tohru and Yukiko growing closer in their friendship, and both of their moms smiling down upon them.

--

"Thanks so much for coming to visit with me yesterday…" Tohru said to Uo and Hana at school. Yukiko had taken to following Tohru almost everywhere since their conversation yesterday, and Tohru knew what it felt like to have a younger sibling for once. Tohru didn't mind though, Yukiko was very easy to get along with and to cute to get mad at. She was almost like a little duckling following its mother. If Tohru didn't know what Zodiac Yukiko was already, she would have to guess that Yukiko could have been a duckling instead of a dragon.

"Hey… C'mon, we should be thanking you… Especially for all the food you made," Uo said.

"Yukiko helped with the food also," Tohru said looking down at the hyperactive Yukiko. Shigure made the mistake of giving her coffee this morning. Kyo got very angry and complained that it would be like having two Momijis.

"Yea, and who knew that we would get to see Yukiko in such a cute outfit," Uo added watching the bouncing girl with a smile. "Who gave the kid sugar?"

"Oh, Shigure gave her coffee to wake her up this morning. She went to bed late last night and was really tired. So, to wake her up he handed her a drink and I think it would be safe to say that it worked," Tohru explained.

"This was the first time that I've ever had coffee," Yukiko said, halting her playful skipping for a minute.

"Wow, really. It doesn't show," Uo said jokingly. Yukiko only grinned at them and resumed her actions of saying hi to people she didn't even know.

"Tohru! Yukiko!" the group heard Momiji cry out as he ran towards them. Yukiko didn't seem to notice as she was talking to an upperclassman boy. The boy looked nice enough so Tohru didn't worry too much about Yukiko.

"Hide me! Hide me!" Momiji said running behind Tohru. "We're playing cops and robbers! And I'm the robber!"

Yukiko was about as giddy as Momiji and continued her conversation. The boy she was talking to had shaggy red hair and brown eyes. He was about as tall as Yuki and in a grade above him.

"Are you related to the Prince then, Yukiko?" the boy asked.

"Yep! What's your name?" Yukiko wondered shifting positions every five seconds.

"I'm Mamoru Sohma. We're distantly related then," Mamoru said smiling.

"Wow, you're a Sohma. Who of the other Sohmas do you know?" Yukiko asked wondering if he knew her father. Her sugar high was wearing down and she was beginning to feel quite calm.

"Well, I have an older sister whose name is Kana. She was training to become a doctor a couple years ago and worked for Hatori Sohma. That didn't work out though, but she was married just a while ago," Mamoru said.

"Uh… She worked for Hatori? That's my father," Yukiko said nervously.

"That's amazing. I never heard anything about him having a daughter though," Mamoru said in thought.

"I only met him myself a couple months ago. I was living with my mum in Europe," Yukiko said.

"Well, I gotta get to class. We should talk again sometime," Mamoru said before walking off towards his classroom.

Yukiko turned around and hopped back over to Tohru, Uo, and Hana.

"Oh… yeah… that's what they say, isn't it?" Uo was saying when Yukiko tuned into their discussion. "Guys look like their moms and girls look like their dads?"

"Yes, just like Tohru resembles her father more than her mother…" Hana added.

"Well, I guess that's true. Yukiko does look a lot like her father. I've only seen her mother in a picture but her mom has blonde hair and blue eyes," Tohru said noticing Yukiko standing beside her.

"Are you finished with your little escapade there?" Uo asked.

"Yeah. Oh Tohru! I met a Sohma just now!" Yukiko exclaimed. Tohru's eyes widened in surprise before she started stuttering.

"A… Sohma? I didn't know there were anymore here," Tohru wondered.

"Yea, his name is Mamoru. His big sister used to work with my dad. Her name's Kana," Yukiko said. Tohru started at Kana's name and was unsure whether or not Yukiko knew of Hatori and Kana's romance.

"That's nice. I hope I can meet him also," Tohru said finally. Tohru didn't want to mention anything about Hatori having a girlfriend around Yukiko. It might trouble the girl to know that her father had another fling while her mother was hiding from his family.

--

While Tohru was at work that night, Hatori and Haru came to visit. Hatori walked into Yukiko's room while Haru talked to Shigure, and he found her at her desk drawing. He looked over her shoulder quietly and looked at the picture to see him, Kyouni, and Yukiko all happy and laughing. Yukiko was between them and holding their hands where she belonged.

Clearing his throat, Hatori watched Yukiko fling her arms over her drawing and turn towards him. She threw her picture into a drawer and faced him completely.

"Um… Hello!" Yukiko said nervously. Hatori smiled slightly and took a gold key out of his pocket. "Oh, right! Hold on a second." Yukiko ran over to her closet and tugged at a chest half her size. It seemed too heavy for her, so Hatori walked over and helped her pull it out with ease.

"This is the trunk?" Hatori asked, pocketing the key. He would open it later when he was alone.

"Yeah, it's kinda heavy though. I can get Uncle Shigure to help you if you want," Yukiko said patting her hands together as to get imaginary dust off of them.

"That's fine," Hatori replied.

"Um… Can I ask you something?" Yukiko wondered, bashfully looking at him.

"Certainly," Hatori said gently, trying not to sound so stern for once.

"Ah… Well… Who is Kana?"

--

Oooohhh… So sorry to end it there, but it's late at night and I have my first day of school in the morning. My last year of high school! Woot Woot! Anyways, if you want me to write that prequel, let me know. Right, well review if you like and let me know what you think about my story so far. Oh, how do you like my new character? It was a spur of the moment thing. He turned out very nice though, no?

Love, Archer

Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing so far!


	11. A Couple Fights and a Stolen Kiss

Sorry I couldn't have this chapter out earlier but school started and I've been super busy with homework and getting everything ready. But here it is and I hope you like it. Props to my reviewers who keep the support going.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket but I do own Yukiko and the song is Return by Ok Go.

Innocence  
Chapter 10  
A Couple Fights and a Stolen Kiss

"Kana?" Hatori asked shocked that the name of his second love would come up.

"Yes. You see, I met a boy from our distant family. He said Kana was his older sister and she used to work for her. So I wondered if you knew of her or Mamoru," Yukiko said quietly. She didn't want to upset her father since he had an unpleasant alarmed look on his face.

"She did work for me for a while. It didn't work out though and she had to leave. It's not important," Hatori ended. He felt for some reason not to say anything about how he fell in love with Kana. He wondered slightly how she would take the news but decided against mentioning it.

"Oh, okay," Yukiko replied. She couldn't help the feeling that he was hiding something else.

"Well, I must go now. We'll have some more time to spend later this week," Hatori said turning to walk out the door.

"Alright… dad," Yukiko whispered to the empty doorway. She hoped that she would get to know him better and on a level where their relationship would be more friendly. She wanted him to act like a real loving father, not an acquaintance.

--

"Here you go," Tohru said as she handed out bowls to everyone for dinner. Yukiko grabbed hers and started to eat.

"Thank you Tohru," Yukiko said before jumping when the door near her slammed open. Her bowl flew out of her hands and landed upside down on Kyo's head.

"What the hell?" Kyo screamed but he was ignored as Shigure made his presence known in the room.

"All right! Here's an idea- what do you say we go on a trip tomorrow?" Shigure asked obvious to Kyo's anger.

"I'm so sorry, Kyo," Yukiko gushed as she ran for a towel to help clean Kyo's hair from her dinner. Everyone looked at him shocked. "After all, this is Golden Week. It would be a shame if we didn't do something special…Chances like this don't come very often."

Yukiko ran back into the room and draped a towel over Kyo's head. She started to rub his hair down with it while he talked to Shigure.

"What kinda' crazy talk are you spewing over there? You drunk or somethin'?" Kyo asked sounding annoyed at the girl fussing over his hair.

"No, but even if I had been drinking, it wouldn't affect me…" Shigure laughed.

"Uncle Shigure, you drink alcohol? My mum used to drink wine but that was only on special occasions. It's very usual in Europe," Yukiko said. (AN: Forgive me if that's not true or stereotypical)

"At any rate… I thought we might go to one of the Sohma spas, or perhaps the lake house… How does that sound, Tohru?" Shigure asked.

Kyo grabbed Yukiko's hand to stop her from rubbing the hair off his head.

"Okay, that's enough. It's dry now," Kyo said annoyed.

"I'm really sorry for dropping that on your head. It was an accident and I only wanted to help," Yukiko bashfully answered. She held the towel limp in her hands, Kyo's own hand still attached to her wrist. He looked slightly ashamed at his harsh reprimand.

"Ah, hell," Kyo muttered as Yukiko left the room to put the towel away.

"You always seem to make everyone else feel bad, don't you?" Yuki asked after noticing the little exchange.

"Shut up you damn rat!" Kyo screamed slamming his fist onto the table.

--

Later that night, Yukiko was out behind the house planting some flower seeds that Yuki had given her by a small pond. Kyo walked quietly up behind her to see what she was doing. As he did this, she started to hum a song that was unfamiliar to him.

"Now its years since your body went flat  
And even memories of that  
Are all think and dull, all gravel and glass  
But who needs them now  
Displaced they're easily more safe  
The worst of it now  
I can't remember your face

Please…  
Return

For a while, with the vertigo cured  
We were alive – we were pure  
The void took the shape of all that you were  
But years take their toll  
And things get bent into shape  
Antiseptic and tired  
I can't remember your face

Please…  
Return

You were supposed to grow old  
Reckless, unfrightened, and old  
You were supposed to grow old

Return  
You were supposed to return."

Kyo interrupted her before she could sing anything else.

"We're leaving for the lake house tomorrow. Go pack," Kyo said harshly. He watched her jump a couple feet in the air and spin around to see him.

"Oh, it's just you," Yukiko sighed, relieved.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Kyo asked.

"I was afraid you were some stranger," Yukiko apologized.

"Whatever, just go get ready," Kyo said before leaving.

"O-okay," Yukiko stuttered before finishing her gardening.

--

The next morning, Yukiko was sitting between her father who was driving and Shigure on her right. Yuki, Tohru, and Kyo were sitting in the back seat with their luggage behind them in the trunk. Yukiko was happy that her father decided to come, because she would get to spend more time getting to know him better.

When they arrived at the lake house, everyone except Kyo piled out of the car. Kyo was much slower on the uptake and was reluctant to even come.

"Just look at that lake!" Tohru exclaimed looking over the sparkling water.

"It's beautiful. Perfect to swim in!" Yukiko agreed joyfully hugging her father around his waist. They were inside and standing by a window. Yuki was next to Tohru, with Yukiko between Tohru and her father. Much like Tohru, she had attached herself to her father and wouldn't leave his side. When she really bonded to a person, she wanted to spend all her time with them.

"And big, too!" Tohru added.

"I don't know that it's really that impressive…" Hatori said calmly.

"Of course, it's wonderful," Yukiko said to her father, giggling. He watched her radiate with happiness with his one uncovered eye.

"Just be careful 'Jason' doesn't get you while you're here…" Shigure said creepily sneaking up behind them. Yukiko jumped and looked around wildly for this so called Jason.

"Don't even start with your nonsense…" Yuki said. Hatori put his hand on his daughter's movements to soothe her actions.

"Who's Jason?" Yukiko asked nervously.

"Jason… Jason… Why does that name sound familiar?" Kyo wondered from where he was laying down.

"Jason is a giant bear they say lives by the lake… You don't know much, do you…" Shigure said.

"Shut up! I knew that!" Kyo screamed as he sat up.

"No you didn't," Hatori said coolly.

"Oh, just a bear. I was afraid that it was some creepy, pedophiliac stalker that kills people and burns their entrails like in the movies," Yukiko said relaxed. Everyone else stared at her vivid description like she was crazy.

"Where the hell did that come from? And why are we even talking about this?" Kyo asked. "You didn't bring us all the way here to tell us about a bear, did you?"

"Yes, why did you bring us here?" Yuki asked. "I suddenly get the feeling you're up to something…"

"Ah, you two… always so suspicious… All I wanted was for everyone to come have a nice, relaxing time at the lake. And you think I'm up to something. Instead of standing around sniffing out conspiracies, why don't you try to find a more productive use for your time. Oh say… like taking Tohru for a walk," Shigure suggested.

"Oh, it's okay. I really don't mind going by myself…" Tohru said.

"You know, it's just too tense in here. We could use someone to come lighten the mood… I know, I'll call Aya!" Shigure said.

While everyone else was yelling and threatening Shigure, Yukiko pulled her father out the door so they could be alone for a while.

"Where are you taking me?" Hatori asked.

"Well since everyone else is busy, I thought we could have some time alone to talk about whatever," Yukiko replied. They walked silently around the lake for some time. "Dad…"

"Yes?" Hatori asked watching his daughter's curious expression.

"Um… did you love mum?" Yukiko asked suddenly. She stopped walking and started at a caterpillar crawling by her shoe.

"Yes… I did very much," Hatori finally replied after a couple seconds.

"Then, do you still love her?" Yukiko wondered. The best way to learn about her father was to ask questions.

"I do…" Hatori answered. He could only guess where she was taking this conversation but he patiently waited to find out.

"Well… do you love me also?" Yukiko mumbled shyly. She bent down towards the ground to let the little bug crawl on her arm. Hatori sat down near her in the grass and thought about how to answer her inquiry.

"Without a doubt," Hatori remarked. He couldn't see his daughter's expression because she was turned away from him but he did notice her stiffen a bit.

His daughter looked like she belonged out in nature that day and her pale yellow sundress glowed under the burning sun. She wasn't wearing shoes and it made her even more connected to her surroundings. Her hair was down and swaying with the ripples of the soft wind. There was no doubt in his mind or of anyone else by the way the he looked at her, that he truly loved his daughter.

"Well then why didn't you come find mum after all this time!" Yukiko suddenly cried as she turned around swiftly to face him. She stood before him with a look of complete outrage on her petite face. He stood up to meet her, surprised at the turn in the conversation.

"What?" Hatori asked stunned.

"You let her die! I'm sure that you could have helped her. You could have made her happy all that time. She thought I didn't notice, but she would suddenly have those moments of sadness on her face. You could have saved her and made her happy!" Yukiko screamed, scaring some birds in the nearby trees.

"No! I couldn't! Akito would have made me erase her memories," Hatori said, stepping closer to calm her down.

"Why? You could have stayed with us in Europe! I could have finally had a father instead of a broken family. You know how many times I saw other people with fathers? I never even had any friends. It was just me and mum! We were alone for almost fourteen years!" Yukiko continued to yell with tears streaming down her face. Hatori's heart clenched with guilt at being the one to make his daughter cry so. And he had to admit that she was right.

"I couldn't leave the Sohmas. They're my family and I have to remain loyal to Akito. Its part of the curse," Hatori attempted to apologize.

"So he's more important to you? He's your family! You don't love mum or me, you just love Akito and your perfect family!" Yukiko cried one last time before running off into a group of trees next to the lake. Hatori watched her go with a single tear coursing down his face.

--

Tohru, Kyo, and Yuki had taken the walk that Shigure had suggested. Both of the boys seemed irritable so nothing was spoken between them. Soon enough though, they noticed someone run by up ahead quickly. The small person had their hands covering their face and their hair was flying behind them as they ran… their dark green… hair.

"Was that Yukiko?" Tohru asked, but she was ignored by Kyo who ran after the little blur now passing through trees.

Kyo kept his eyes on Yukiko who was getting scratched from tree branches on her uncovered arms and legs. He tried his best to catch up to her but she ran out of sight beyond the trees into a field. He exited the small forest in time to see her trip over a rock and go flying into the dirt ground. She tumbled down a small hill and landed in a creek full of water.

Kyo quickly ran down the hill as fast as he could to check on her and he saw her crying. Jogging through the water to her, he pulled her out of the knee high brook and pulled her over to the edge.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you crying? Are you alright?" Kyo asked rapidly.

"Stop! Go away!" Yukiko cried as she pushed him and turned away from him. She started to get up to run again, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to the ground.

"No! Tell me what's wrong," Kyo said calmly for once in his life.

"I don't have to. Why are you being so nice now?" Yukiko stuttered trying to release his grip on her arms.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kyo asked.

"You're never nice to me, why now?" Yukiko fired back. "Let me go!"

"No! Stop struggling, I'm not gonna hurt you. I want to know what you're running from," Kyo replied.

"It's none of your business!" Yukiko repeated.

"I just want to help!" Kyo screamed back, growing annoyed at her endless resistance.

"I don't need your help!" Yukiko cried. She stood up and he followed her. He still held her arms in a tight grip.

"Stop being so stubborn!" Kyo shouted pulling her closer to stop her fighting to get away from him.

"No! Let me go!" Yukiko shrieked again. She didn't want to be near anyone after her fight with her father, and now she was fighting with someone else.

"Just shut up!" Kyo screamed as his lips descended upon hers in a feverish kiss.

--

Wow! There are no other words I have for that wonderful ending. Sorry to leave it on a cliffy but I felt it was a good enough spot. I should have the next chapter out sometime this week or next weekend. I absolutely loved the interactions in this chapter between Yukiko, her father, and Kyo. Just beautiful to me. Anyways, please review and let me know what you think of this chapter and of course, Kyo and Yukiko's kiss. Tehe…

Love, Archer


	12. Confusion and a Guest

Okay, well I'm finally writing a new chapter. I haven't had any time lately to do anything and I am so sorry for the wait. I am gonna try to get this story finished before January because I am going to spend a couple weeks at a relatives house, possibly. And I have been trying to get ideas for the prologue to this story and one to my other story. I will try to update as quickly as possible and hopefully I will have more time than lately because of school and all the stuff I have to do for it. As for the last chapter, I don't write the story, my hands do. Haha, but the last chapter was interesting to say the least. I personally liked how it turned out and there will be some reasoning and confusion on Yukiko and Kyo's part. Oh ya, they kissed! Bwahaha. And I got some great ideas to where I will take this story. Hehe. Well, hope ya like this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket but I do own Yukiko and the poem that Yukiko reads. If you take that poem, I will sue, hehe.

Innocence  
Chapter 11  
Confusion and a Guest

Yukiko stood shocked as the grip on her arms was loosened. After a moment where neither Kyo nor she moved, Yukiko regained her senses. She pushed Kyo away and he landed on his butt in the creek. She finally was able to run away from him this time and he watched her run into the vast forest.

Reviewing the scene in his head, Kyo beat his fist into the water surrounding him. He got out of the brook and took the path back up to where he last saw Yuki and Tohru.

"Why the hell did I do that? She wouldn't shut the hell up, I had to do something," Kyo reasoned. "The stupid look on her face when she was running. This is all her damn fault! If she didn't look so helpless…"

--

Yukiko crept open the window to her temporary room around midnight. She quietly changed into her pajamas and brushed out her hair. She didn't want to have a chance encounter with Kyo anytime soon. She was too confused about her feelings now.

Yukiko couldn't help but feel something towards Kyo after that kiss. She just didn't know whether it was disgust or excitement. She had never thought about anyone like that, but now she was new to the emotions set forth from that moment their lips touched.

Lying down on her bed, Yukiko wondered about that afternoon. First the fight with her father, who she still needed to apologize to, and then this situation with Kyo.

"Why would he kiss _me_ in the first place?"

--

"Miss Honda, are you ready to go?" Yuki asked Tohru as they got ready to go down to the lake. Shigure was lying down on the floor reading a comic of something. Yukiko was right next to him and laughed sometimes at the cartoons shown. She was trying her hardest to ignore the sour Kyo in the same room, but she noticed how he flinched every time she laughed.

"Uh-huh! All set!" Tohru replied happily. Yukiko had been feeling sick this morning and decided not to go to the lake with them. She was wrapped in a huge blanket on the floor next to Shigure. Her father gave her a once over and said it was nothing more than a mere cold. Fluids and time would wear it out.

"So you're going down to the lake? Better be careful, Kyo… Don't fall in," Shigure taunted. Yukiko kept her eyes to the ground as Kyo spun around to glare at Shigure.

"Like I would!" Kyo screamed. He calmed a little as he noticed Yukiko's disheartened expression.

"Oh, goodbye Hatori… We'll see you in a little while…" Tohru said to the silent doctor lying on the couch with a book resting on his stomach. Tohru and Yuki walked over to see the older dragon sleeping.

"What is it? Is he asleep over there?" Shigure wondered. Yukiko started to get up to bring the blanket over to rest on her father. Shigure grabbed her ankle and made her fall back onto the ground pillowed by the comforter. "No you don't. You're staying right here until you get better." Yukiko pouted and wrapped the blanket around herself, only peaking out to glare at Shigure.

"Uh-huh…" Tohru responded to Shigure's question.

"I didn't think Hatori slept…" Kyo remarked.

"That goes to show what all you know," Yukiko muttered. Shigure and Yuki tried not to laugh at the look of indignation on Kyo's face. Yukiko was facing the other direction as Kyo attempted to come up with something to say.

"Oh, here! I brought a blanket…" Tohru said as she came in running.

"What! Why couldn't I give him mine?" Yukiko screamed in shock. It was her father, and she was obligated to help him. Besides, she couldn't help but feel she needed to do something to make up with her father.

"No need to get testy, my lovely little niece," a voice said from behind Yukiko. She looked up to see Ayame standing above her with a huge grin on his face. "What's the matter? You all look so surprised!"

Kyo and Yuki both looked like they would kill someone, namely Shigure. Yukiko jumped up and hugged Ayame, while Shigure rushed the other three out the door.

"Uncle Ayame, why are you here?" Yukiko asked.

"I was just coming to visit! Oh yes, I also found someone who got lost on the way here!" Ayame announced just as Hatsuharu walked into the room.

"Haru!" Yukiko exclaimed. She hadn't seen the boy since school last week. She had gotten used to seeing him and Momiji every day.

"Hey, I heard you were sick," Haru said as he produced a bouquet of yellow and orange tulips from behind his back. He handed them to a surprised Yukiko. "I got these for you. I hope you feel better soon."

"Thank you so much," Yukiko replied as she hugged Haru tightly.

"You're welcome," Haru said.

"So Haru, you got lost, did you?" Shigure joked.

--

"So what's the real reason you're here?" Yukiko asked Ayame as she was alone with him in the kitchen.

"Oh dear snowflake, do you have no trust in your uncle?" Ayame retorted, leaning against the counter.

"You know that's not true. Uncle Shigure or my dad must have called you," Yukiko said. Ayame's face took on a worried, darker expression.

"You're right, little one. It was Shii-chan. He was worried about you and your father. I heard that you were gone all night. That's not good to do around here. Might I ask why you thought to run around in the middle of the night when you don't know the area?" Ayame asked. Yukiko stayed silent as she bashfully hung her head. "That's what I thought. Well, would you mind telling me what happened?"

Ayame took a quick peak at the door when he heard something moving. He noticed white hair, and smiled to himself waiting for Yukiko's answer.

"I said some things I really shouldn't have," Yukiko started. "But, why? Why would he not try to find my mum?" Ayame walked quickly over to her and gathered her in his arms.

"Oh, believe me, he tried. He tried to find her for two years. He couldn't do anything though with Akito watching him every hour. He wasn't the same after that. Well, until Kana," Ayame said.

"Wait, he said nothing happened with her," Yukiko wondered. Yukiko's expression ranged from angry to depressed as Ayame told her about Hatori and Kana's relationship.

"Why wouldn't he tell me about Kana?" Yukiko asked. Her face was unusually calm as she contemplated everything she learned.

"He figured you would get upset at knowing that he loved another woman. You can't help who you fall in love with. For him, it happened to be both Kyouni and Kana," Ayame said before walking away. Yukiko sat in a chair by the table for about five minutes when Haru figured it was time to go in.

He walked up to her and placed his hand on her head. She looked up at him and he saw the tears rolling down her red cheeks. His eyes softened as he looked down at her anguished face.

"It'll be okay. It's over now," Haru supplied as he watched her close her drained eyes.

"I'm so confused," Yukiko admitted as she visible slumped down in the chair.

"Just live in the now, don't worry about anything that happened in the past. Think about the present and future, and how you can improve it," Haru lectured. He wasn't usually this serious in anything he said but it seemed to fit the moment.

"Thanks Haru. You always seem to be there when I need someone most," Yukiko said looking up at Haru with a gracious expression.

"No problem," Haru said, as he smiled softly. "I'll always be here when you need me." Haru wanted to say something more but he knew it wasn't the right time.

"I hope you're right…"

--

"I've been left behind, again…" Ayame started as he watched Tohru, Yuki, and Kyo walk away. Yukiko and Shigure were beside him while Hatori was sulking behind them.

"You know, you could still go with them if you really wanted to," Shigure said.

"Oh, no, it's quite alright… In fact, I'd much rather stay here…" Ayame said. "It's been far too long since the three of us were together… The night is long… and I'm in no mood for sleep, Shigure…"

"Aya… You read my mind…" Shigure replied in a dreamy tone. "It seems tonight, you and I will be sharing the same dream…"

"Not in front of her," Hatori growled as he slammed his hands over Yukiko's ears quickly. Shigure and Ayame laughed girlishly as Yukiko turned her eyes upward toward her father, who gave her a slight smile.

"Yes!" Shigure and Ayame shouted giving each other the thumbs up.

--

"The coarse hands of time  
Slowly make their way around day  
A shiver  
Random, in the hot afternoon heat

The growling shouts of a stomach barely fed  
Miles apart from the cold drink of rain  
A whisper  
Untraceable, in the bright forgiving stars

The awkward stumble of a man once torn  
Reborn with a vengeance for life  
A prayer  
Marked, for the unselfishness of hope"

Yukiko whispered into the dark surrounding her. She was sitting by a lake, reading a poem she had written about her father. She realized earlier that she hadn't acted the way she was raised to. She had blown up at her father while he still suffered. And that forgiving look in his eyes earlier, he wasn't mad. She couldn't understand that after all the cruel things she had said, he was willing to forgive her. Well, she knew a chance when she saw one. As Haru said earlier, she couldn't live in the past; she had to think about the future now. And the future wanted her to reconcile with her father.

"Yukiko?"

--

Hahaha. Sorry to leave it once again at a cliffie but INXS is on and I'm gonna have a super long update this weekend, I promise! Hope you liked this chapter. Thanks to all my reviewers!

Love, Archer


	13. A Rainy Day and a Cold

Hey lovely readers. I hope you're not mad or anything cause it's taken me forever, but here is the promised chapter. Heh heh. Well, you know with school and all that extra work I'm doing so I can graduate early I have loads of stuff to do. I'M SO SORRY! I should be having more free time from now on and I will get this story going again. Since you guys have waited so long, I'll stop rambling and get on with the chapter. I love you guys!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket but I do own Yukiko.

Innocence  
Chapter 12  
A Rainy Day and a Cold

Jumping around, Yukiko noticed Haru standing a couple of feet behind her. She sighed and relaxed knowing it was just him.

"Haru, you scared me. Please don't sneak up on me like that," Yukiko said nervously laughing.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to," Haru replied. He walked over next to her and sat down.

"That's alright. So what did you come all the way out here for?" Yukiko wondered looking at him.

"Ah, I actually came to see you. I wanted to tell you something," Haru said slowly.

"Oh really?" Yukiko asked fiddling with a piece of grass between her hands.

"Ah… I saw what happened with you and Kyo," Haru stated watching Yukiko's expression. Yukiko's eyes widened and she hung her head quickly.

"Oh… It was an accident," Yukiko stuttered. Haru grabbed her hand and turned her towards him.

"It's okay. I see the way he looks at you sometimes. For him, it may not have been an accident. He's changed. Even if you can't see it, I can. Ever since you came here, he's been different than he was a year ago," Haru explained.

"But… he's not very nice to me sometimes," Yukiko faltered while trying to pull away from Haru.

"He doesn't know how to convey his feelings. He's confused and he's never liked anyone before. Kyo's not the best person with showing his emotions. You just have to know how to read him. It's in his eyes. When I see him look at you, his eyes soften and they get a sparkle in them. He doesn't even look at Tohru that way," Haru said locking Yukiko's eyes with his.

"I don't see it. He's always looked at me with such anger and hate. What you're saying is impossible," Yukiko tried to reason.

"Fine, if you don't want to believe me than forget about it," Haru seethed before storming off. "See if I ever try to help that stupid cat ever again." Yukiko heard Haru mutter slightly.

"Haru's gone off his rocker," Yukiko whispered before lying back in the soft grass behind her.

--

"I mean, if they knew the real me, then they'd know…" Yuki mumbled to Tohru while they were waiting under a house garage for the rain to stop.

"YUKI!" Yuki and Tohru looked up to see Yukiko running towards them with a couple of umbrellas under her arm. "Tohru!" Yukiko started panting as she slid to a stop in front of them. Since she was still under the rain and drenched, Yuki pulled her in next to him and Tohru.

"What are you doing here and why are you soaked when you have an umbrella?" Yuki asked the girl once she finished trying to gasp in air.

"I… came… to bring you… umbrellas," Yukiko managed slightly. She coughed before trying again. "I knew you guys went out without them and I ran to bring them to you so you wouldn't be late."

"That was very sweet of you, Yukiko, but you're all wet!" Tohru said. Looking at the girl's attire, she started spazzing out. Yukiko was out in the rain in only a pair of cream shorts and a long-sleeved light pink spaghetti strap. "What are you doing out here without a coat! You're going to catch a cold!"

"But… I just wanted to bring you an umbrella," Yukiko replied.

"It's alright. We'll go straight home and get you warmed up," Yuki said patting her on the head. Yukiko and Yuki turned around, hearing footsteps coming quickly down the street. Tohru calmed down enough to see Haru running their way also. Haru stopped in front of them carrying a towel.

"Yuki?" Haru wondered.

"Hatsuharu!" Tohru exclaimed running over to Haru.

"What are you doing out here in the rain like this?" Haru asked. He noticed Yukiko next to Yuki soaked from the rain. "And why is she all wet!"

"We could ask you the same thing," Yuki said as he pulled Yukiko with him over to Haru.

"You're drenched also!" Yukiko exclaimed indignantly.

"Well, I had to find something," Haru explained.

"Find what?" Yuki asked. Tohru finished patting Haru's face down with a napkin and waited for his reply.

"Well, I… I was looking for her," Haru said as he pulled the towel up to reveal a baby tiger. Yukiko gasped in shock with Tohru.

"What a cute little cat!" Tohru exclaimed. Yukiko however, wasn't too excited. She quickly hid behind Yuki grabbing his shirt, not even peeking out like usual.

"Actually Miss Honda, she's a tiger," Yuki said. He felt Yukiko start to tremble behind him but it could either be from fright or her being cold. "This is Kisa Sohma."

"A Sohma? So she's a member of the zodiac! I don't believe it!" Tohru exclaimed happily. "This is so exciting. Um, hello there. It's really nice to meet you. My name is Tohru Honda-" As Tohru was reaching her hand out to pet the tiger, Kisa bit Tohru's hand.

"Tohru!" Yukiko screamed as Tohru fainted.

--

"Oh my, you've been bitten," Shigure said while Haru was wrapping Tohru's hand.

"Uh-huh," Tohru stuttered still in shock from the bite.

"Kisa, you apologize to her," Yuki commanded to the small tiger in the corner facing the wall. Kisa did nothing but lay there. "Kisa!"

"Um, it's all right. I'm okay. I was just startled, really," Tohru explained.

"Besides Yuki, Kisa isn't able to answer," Shigure muttered. "Wait, wasn't Yukiko with you guys? Where'd she go?"

"Yes, she brought Tohru and me umbrellas. She kind of flipped though when Haru appeared with Kisa. I don't know why though," Yuki contemplated.

"Oh yes, that's right. You see, Yukiko is deathly scared of cats. She wouldn't say why though," Shigure said. Haru's head jerked up when he heard this.

"Really? She doesn't like cats?" Haru asked. Shigure nodded in answer and Haru sighed in defeat.

--

Meanwhile, Yukiko was up in her room asleep on her bed. She had taken a shower and changed into a pair of comfortable shorts and a shirt of Yuki's that she took from his closet. She put a box of tissues next to her bed because she kept sneezing violently. From being out in the rain earlier without any warm clothing on, she definitely caught a bad cold.

Hearing everyone running around downstairs, Yukiko was awoken by the sound of doors slamming. She reached for a tissue because her nose was currently running.

"Ugh!" Yukiko groaned lying back on her bed and going to sleep once more because she couldn't grab a tissue.

--

Kyo was walking down the hall to get a drink in the kitchen when he heard a loud sneeze. It came from Yukiko's room and the door was shut. Curious as always, Kyo slid the door open a tiny bit and peeked in to see Yukiko asleep on her bed.

"What the hell is she doing sleeping at one in the afternoon?" Kyo wondered to himself. Right then, Yukiko sneezed brutally and struggled to get warm in her bed. Worried, Kyo walked into the room and up to her bed. She had a pile of tissues on her bed stand and a couple blankets piled over her, but she was still shivering. Kyo put a hand on her forehead to check her temperature, and drew back at the immense heat radiating there.

"Damn it! How is she still cold when she is burning up hot?" Kyo vented. He ran out of the room to find someone but the house was vacant. He tried to call Hatori but there was no answer. "Where the hell is everybody!"

Kyo ran to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water for Yukiko to drink along with some aspirin. He went back to her room and set the glass on the stand next to her bed.

"Yukiko, wake up," Kyo said lifting her off the pillows.

"No… tired…" Yukiko mumbled in her sleep. Kyo kept a hold of her as she tried to lie back on the bed.

"You need to drink this or else you'll get dehydrated," Kyo warned. He grabbed the glass and put it to her lips for her to drink. "Open your mouth."

"No-" Yukiko tried to say but was cut off when Kyo drained the water into her mouth with the pills. Yukiko swallowed automatically and flinched at the pain of the action. Kyo laid her back down and covered her with the blankets. He retrieved a cold washcloth and placed it on her forehead to cool her down. Leaving the room, he grabbed the mound of used tissues and put them in the trash can on his way out.

"The things I do for people," Kyo murmured but he couldn't help but smile when he closed the door.

--

A few hours later, Kisa was at the house sleeping in Tohru's lap. Tohru was sitting next to Yuki in her room. Shigure was reading the newspaper with Haru in the living room.

"So what's the deal? Kisa's here?" Kyo asked as he walked into the room.

"Some things came up. She'll be staying with us for a little while," Shigure answered.

"What sorta' things?" Kyo wondered.

"If you must know, it looked like Kisa's mother was just about to reach her breaking point. So we all agreed it would be good to give them some time apart," Haru explained.

"Yeah, right, forget I asked. Anyway, so where's she hiding?" Kyo asked.

"She's clinging to Tohru," Shigure mused. "Speaking of hiding, have you seen Yukiko at all?"

"Yeah, she's been asleep in her room for about six hours. She's sick you know. None of you were here and Hatori didn't answer his phone," Kyo said.

"She's sick? Must have been from when she ran out in the rain to bring Yuki and Tohru umbrellas. She only had shorts and a tank top on and she didn't even use one of the umbrellas for herself, is what I heard," Shigure clarified.

"Are you serious? What the hell was she thinking? I would have just let them wait until the rain stopped," Kyo muttered vehemently.

"She's sweet, unlike you," Shigure said. "I'll go try calling Hatori and see if he can come over and check on her." He left the room and Kyo took a seat at the table.

"You know, I have to agree with Shigure. She's able to stay sweet even with all the crap you give her," Haru taunted.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kyo screamed.

"What I mean is you don't deserve to like her. You treat her like she's stupid and can't do anything right. You yell at her about caring and then you go and kiss her. Now who's the stupid one?" Haru explained.

"What are you going on about? I don't like her and I didn't kiss her," Kyo yelled.

"Don't lie, I saw it happen. And besides, I do see the way you look at her. You want her but you know what, you're not good enough. She's too kind of a person to be with you. All you would do is treat her like shit. I tried helping you out earlier by talking to Yukiko but I've changed my mind. Oh yeah, I forgot one important detail… She's frightened of cats…"

--

Okay, wow. I really like this chapter and I hope you guys do also. This one definitely looked more into relationships and not the story. I'm really sorry that this has taken forever to come and it's not even that long but all I can say is that I'm sorry and I hope this chapter has made you happy. Anyways, I'll get started on the next chapter asap. Love you guys!

Love, Archer


	14. Tohru's Forgiveness

New Chappie! Happy New Year everybody! Oh I'm so excited because I only have 8 days left of school and after that the chapters will be updated regularly. Let's jump with joy! And then I can also get started on all the other projects I've been wanting to do. Especially working on my outfits for AKON! I'm so ready for the Dallas convention this summer. My parents wouldn't let me go last year since I was only 17. But this year, come May I'll be 18 and I can finally go! Okay enough of my chit chat, let's get this chapter started!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruit's Basket but I do own Yukiko and Mamoru.

Innocence  
Chapter 13  
Tohru's Forgiveness

"Yukiko, you need to come out sometime," Haru begged at the closed door.

"Is she still here?" Yukiko's voice was heard from the other side of the door. Haru sighed and rested his head on the wall.

"Kisa won't hurt you. What do you think she'll do to you?" Haru asked.

"I saw what she did to Tohru. Tohru looked like her hand hurt a lot. I can't forgive someone who would bite Tohru like that," Yukiko answered. Haru heard footsteps come near the door and he watched as Yukiko opened it and poked her head out.

"Tohru's fine and she doesn't hold a grudge against Kisa. Come on, this is getting ridiculous," Haru said as he grabbed Yukiko and slung her over his shoulder.

"HARU! No! I don't want to go downstairs!" Yukiko complained the whole way down the steps. Haru stopped as he heard Tohru exit the bathroom. He dropped Yukiko and held a hand on her shoulder to stop her from escaping back to her room.

"Awww, you are so adorable!" Yukiko heard Tohru coo to Kisa before they walked away. Yukiko lowered her head and pushed Haru's hand off her shoulder.

"I need to get out," Yukiko murmured before running out of the house and out of sight. Haru sighed again in disappointment before he went to tell Shigure what happened.

--

Yukiko continued down the crowded street. She knew where she was going. The one place she knew that Kisa's name would not be crawling through everyone's mouths every two seconds. Knocking on the door to a house, she started fidgeting with the skirt Shigure picked out for her today. He was helping her out a lot lately. He would bring her food and drinks and keep her company for the three days that she was locked in her room because of Kisa's presence.

She looked up as the door was opened and a face appeared with a questioning look.

"Mamoru."

--

"There now. It's time for us to go back to class," Yuki said. He gave Tohru and Momiji a napkin to wipe their tears with. They were discussing Kisa and what happened to her at school and they couldn't help but cry at hearing what Kisa had to go through.

"But what about Yukiko? I haven't seen or talked to her in the last couple of days," Momiji asked.

"She hasn't been around the house either. She only comes back to sleep and then she's gone early the next morning. No one knows where she goes," Yuki explained.

"I think I might have a clue," Haru said. They turned to see him at the edge of the roof and looking towards the ground. The rest followed him and gathered at the fence to see what Haru was pointing out. They noticed Yukiko walking with a guy with red hair. She was laughing at something he said as he walked her to her class.

"Maybe that's who she's been hanging out with lately," Momiji wondered.

--

"Yukiko! Kisa's leaving, don't you want to say goodbye?" Shigure asked while walking into her room to find her. He looked inside and noticed the room was empty again. Shigure rushed outside where Tohru, Momiji, and Haru were watching Kisa leave for school.

"Haru, Yukiko's missing again. She's not in her room," Shigure panted as Haru went progressively black.

"This has gone on too long," Haru ranted as he ran quickly down the street.

--

"It's almost time for school to start. Are you ready?" Mamoru asked to the figure on the other side of the closed door. The door slid open revealing Mamoru's bathroom and a small figure wearing a school uniform.

"Do you think you can help me with my hair? Tohru usually does it," Yukiko trailed off at the thought of the girl.

"Sure," Mamoru said as he went behind her and pulled her hair into two french braids. "There all done."

"Thanks," Yukiko said. She was startled though by a rough knocking on Mamoru's front door.

"Hold on, I'll get it," Mamoru said as he left the room to see who was knocking. She heard the door open and a familiar voice.

"Where is she?" The voice yelled as he charged into the house.

"What do you think you're doing?" Mamoru asked as Haru walked towards his room. Yukiko knew that it was Haru's voice and he sounded black.

"Yukiko!" Haru yelled again as he opened the door to the room she was occupying. She trembled at the anger in his voice. He stepped in and saw Yukiko cowering towards Mamoru's bathroom. "Have you been here this whole time? Why are you never at Shigure's house anymore?" Haru dragged her out of Mamoru's house, pushing Mamoru away when he tried to help Yukiko.

"I-" Yukiko tried to explain but Haru cut her off.

"Is it because of Kisa? And because Tohru has been paying more attention to her instead of you?" Haru asked as they continued down the street.

"No, it's-" Yukiko tried again.

"You're acting so childish, all because of some petty reason. You had everyone worried sick about you. Do you like to make everyone worry?" Haru continued incessantly.

"No, I don't. It's just… she's a cat," Yukiko answered.

"Yeah, it's not that big of a deal. I'm a cow, Yuki's a rat, and you're a dragon," Haru said.

"I just don't get along with cats that much. Can we go to school now?" Yukiko asked kicking her foot back and forth.

"Something must have happened for you to be so scared of cats. What happened?" Haru wondered. Yukiko sighed and lifted up her shirt revealing a white scar about a quarter of an inchthick trailing from the top of her ribs down past the top of her skirt. It looked like her side had been ripped open. Yukiko turned her head not wanting to see Haru's reaction. His eyes widened drastically as he reached out a hand to touch her scar. When Yukiko felt a cool hand on her side she jumped and quickly pushed her uniform shirt back down.

"So you see, my reasoning for not liking cats is logical. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get to school early to help clean the classroom," Yukiko said as she started walking towards the school leaving Haru speechless in the middle of the street with his hand upraised.

--

"Ah… Saki, do you think I could come with you to your house after school?" Yukiko asked as she was walking down the hall with Hana.

"Of course. Why do you ask?" Hana replied. The Prince Yuki Fan Club has already asked to come to her house to interview her but she couldn't think of why Yukiko would want to.

"Because of T-Tohru," Yukiko stammered as she entered her classroom.

--

"Here… It's this way," Hana said as she pointed to her right. The fan club girls were walking a ways behind them and were chatting about Hana's house.

"They're quite ridiculous, huh?" Yukiko said as she laughed at the fan club girls were trying to talk quietly but failing.

"Yes, I agree," Hana said. They stopped in front of a normal looking house. Yukiko liked it though, because it was different than what she had been living in lately. "We're here. Oh, and by the way… For your own safety, it's best you don't call each other by name in the house."

"Why is that Saki?" Yukiko asked following Hana into her house. They walked up the stairs while the fan club girls lingered behind to check out their surroundings.

"You'll see," Hana replied. Yukiko walked into Hana's room and sat down on the mat near the table while Hana went to get the other girls. She appeared a few seconds later with the girls trailing warily after her. "Would you like to help me get the snacks, Yukiko?"

"Yep!" Yukiko answered, quickly jumping up and running after Hana towards the kitchen.

"So what is it you wanted to talk about Tohru?" Hana asked while pulling out some treats. Yukiko leaned up against the wall and stared at the floor.

"Ah… Well, what keeps her going? Why does she always have a smile on her face? How does she go through each day with a positive attitude even though something terrible happens?" Yukiko wondered.

"Tohru can smile every day because she has friends with her. That's what makes her so happy. To just know there are people that care about her and people she can care about. The memories of her mom keep her going. Our friendship keeps her going. And even the Sohmas keep her strong. She doesn't want to let others down. She tries her best to stay happy so she won't disappoint people around her. That is why she is the way she is," Hana finished as she put the snacks on the counter. She turned towards Yukiko when she heard a whimper. Yukiko had silent tears running down her cheek rapidly. Hana pulled Yukiko towards her and hugged her with her hand on Yukiko's head.

"And did you know? Caring for you like a younger sister also keeps her going so she won't let you down and lose your faith. She wants you to believe in her," Hana added as Yukiko smiled up at her through her tears. "Now, let's go give those fan club girls a scare."

"Yeah!" Yukiko replied laughing as they walked up the stairs. They went into her room just in time to see Motoko close Hana's closet door.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Hana said.

"Hanajima! There's someone hiding in your closet!" Motoko screamed backing away from the door quickly.

"Ah… Megumi," Hana answered watching Yukiko inch her way towards the closet door Motoko was pointing accusingly to.

"Who'd you say?" Motoko asked.

"My younger brother…" Hana said. Yukiko had no idea Hana had a little brother. "That's not a closet. That's his room. Megumi come out and say hello to our guests." Yukiko's hand was creeping towards the door to open it when it opened itself and appeared a boy not much younger than her. He looked exactly like Hana only a boy and younger. His big purple eyes appeared right in front of her own silver ones and she quickly rushed back over to Hana.

"Hello," Megumi said. "You're not Tohru, or Arisa… Are these girls new friends of yours?"

"Not really… They're just some girls from my school… Yukiko is my new friend though. She currently lives with Tohru," Hana replied to her younger brother.

"So, uh… Does, Megumi have… the same sort of 'electric wave' powers as you?" Motoko asked. Yukiko grabbed one of the snacks and devoured the delicious treat.

"No… I don't," Megumi answered. "But I can do something else… I can put curses on people." Yukiko straightened when she heard this and started trembling like the fan club girls. "I've worked hard for a long time perfecting my technique… And now, I'm quite good at it."

"Uh… How do you do it?" Minami asked shivering.

"Names," Megumi replied ominously. "All I have to do is learn a person's name, and once I know that I can easily put a curse on them… Which reminds me… I haven't even asked your names yet… Have I?" Megumi wondered. Yukiko was quivering now because Hana had mentioned her name to Megumi. She didn't want a curse put on her, she already had one! She just hoped that since she was Hana's friend, Megumi wouldn't curse her. Unless… Hana didn't really like her and asked Megumi to put a curse on her just like the fan club girls! No, Hana was too nice for that, but she could have been pretending. Shaking the crazy thought from her head, Yukiko felt shameful at even thinking that Hana would be pretending this whole time.

"Because to truly love someone, is to always put their feelings before your own… no matter what. Keep putting yourself first… And you will only succeed in pushing him away," Megumi finished as Yukiko discontinued her thoughts. She watched as Megumi frightened them with knowing their names and the fan club girls raced out of the house.

"I'm sorry… Did I overdo it?" Megumi asked while they went to the hallway downstairs.

"No," Hana replied as casual as ever.

"That was great! What a way to teach those girls to never mess with you," Yukiko exclaimed pouncing on Megumi and fawning over his threatening powers.

"You know, I was also beginning to feel jealous," Hana started. Yukiko stopped squeezing Megumi to listen to Hana. "It almost seems like Tohru spends every moment of her time with the Sohmas now… And I guess… I was getting lonely. But… That's right… I can't let myself be selfish about Tohru. I don't want to be like those fan club girls. I'm glad Tohru and Yuki are friends. It was wrong of me to suggest otherwise."

"You'll always have me!" Yukiko said as she hugged Hana trying to lighten the mood.

"So you've learned something today," Megumi realized. Just then the doorbell rang and with Yukiko still hanging onto her side, Hana opened the door to find Tohru and Uo on her front step.

"Oh. Hana!" Tohru exclaimed. Uo and Tohru entered the house slowly.

"I found her at the station," Uo said looking at Tohru.

"So, um… where are Minami and the others?" Tohru wondered.

"Oh, Tohru…" Hana trailed off.

"It's been a long time, Tohru, Arisa," Megumi said barely able to get the words out before Yukiko pounced on him again.

"Hey, kid," Uo said in response to his hello.

"Yeah, hello! Nice to see you again, Megumi!" Tohru said before noticing Yukiko at Megumi's side. "Oh Yukiko! You're here too?"

"Uh-huh! I came over to help protect Saki from the evil fan club girls!" Yukiko said proudly holding out a peace sign like she noticed Shigure use from time to time. Tohru and Uo laughed at her attempt to look big enough to protect someone.

"So they left, huh? Well doesn't that just suck," Uo said after whispering something to Hana.

"They didn't just leave, they ran out of the house! Megumi and Saki totally scared the wits out of them. They ran like dogs with their tails between their legs!" Yukiko exclaimed loudly while replaying what happened with the girls to Tohru and Uo.

"Hey! Megumi! Whadda' ya' say to another dumpling eating contest!" Uo suddenly asked.

"I'd say you're on," Megumi answered. Yukiko started jumping up and down excitedly.

"OH! Count me in, I can totally take you both on," Yukiko dared. She wasn't a real fan of dumplings but she was willing to help brighten the mood of the day.

"I'll go make some tea… Tohru, would you like a cup… or snacks?" Hana asked laughing.

"Sure!" Tohru replied happily following after the group to the kitchen.

--

Yukiko and Tohru were walking home after snacks at Hana's house. Suffice to say, Yukiko did not win the dumpling contest and ended up with a horrible stomach ache. She helped Megumi win though by stuffing dumplings down his throat quickly to beat Uo's rapid pace. After hearing Tohru's laugh, Yukiko decided it was wrong of her to be jealous of not having attention from Tohru the past week. She felt what Hana was going through and if Hana could overcome her jealously, then so could she.

"Tohru, I'm sorry," Yukiko stated suddenly as they were nearing the Sohma house.

"Sorry? You didn't do anything," Tohru said quickly. She didn't want someone to apologize to her.

"Yes, I did. I was jealous over you giving all your attention to Kisa. I realize the way I've been acting is wrong. I shouldn't have ignored everybody just because I wasn't getting all the attention. I've become selfish, so I just wanted to say I'm sorry," Yukiko said with her head bowed in shame. She was grabbed quickly to Tohru as the older girl hugged her.

"You are so cute! You don't have to be sorry for something like that. It's alright. Everyone wants attention and you just wanted to feel loved. I don't blame you so you don't have to apologize. You can always have my attention when you need it. I'm here for you," Tohru replied while tears were gathering in her eyes.

"Thanks Tohru," Yukiko said as theycontinued walkinghome talking about each other's day.

--

Wow, this chapter was pretty sappy but that's okay. I hope you guys liked it, please review and let me know! Thanks to the reviewers from the last chapter! You guys make writing worth it!

Love, Archer


	15. Kyo's Shock

I am so sorry!! I know it has been a long long time since I last updated, but I just got sooo busy with work, and everything that I kinda forgot all about this. That and I haven't really had any motivation to continue this. But! I am continuing it now, and hopefully this time I'll make it to the finish before I take a big break again. Please forgive me for taking so long, but I swear the ending will be good, and the Prequel that I had planned. And also I'll be continuing my other stories if anyone read those as well. Thanks for being patient with me. On with the story, once again!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruit's Basket, but I do own Yukiko and Mamoru.

Innocence  
Chapter 14  
Kyo's Shock

"If anyone recieved failing grades on any of your midterms, the retests will be on Sunday!" said Yukiko's teacher. Yukiko, Haru, and Momiji were anxiously waiting for class to end. They all made good grades on their midterms so they weren't paying much attention to their teacher. Yukiko was covering her mouth from the giggles that threatened to escape her. Haru was making silly faces at her every few seconds and even had the end of a pencil up his nose at one point.

Momiji pulled Yukiko out of her seat as soon as the bell rang and out the door, with Haru close behind them carrying Yukiko and Momiji's things. They started running as soon as they reached the hall and didn't stop until they reached Yuki's classroom, which had Tohru and Kyo also. Opening the door, Yukiko rushed to the back of the classroom, ahead of Haru and Momiji who waited near the door, where Yuki was standing near Tohru's desk and hugged him fiercely. Tohru herself was on the floor facing the wall apologizing.

Yuki jumped slightly at the sudden appearance of arms around his waist and looked down to see a head of green hair.

"Oh hello, Yukiko," he said patting her head as she looked up grinning at him.

"You went to so much trouble to help me and I still failed one of my tests! I feel so bad for making you waste your time. I can't believe I'm so stupid," Tohru said.

"She failed a test?" Yukiko asked Yuki quietly, watching him as he nodded and then knelt down next to Tohru.

"You're not stupid. You just made a mistake. We all make them. No one expects you to be perfect. Besides, you have a second chance, right?" Yuki asked, smiling gently. "And the questions on retests are usually easier than the real thing."

Haru and Momiji appeared behind Yukiko and overlooked the scene filled with Tohru's tears. Yukiko's ears picked up Yuki saying he had a student council meeting. Saddened, she turned and trudged out of the room.

'I wanted to walk home with Yuki, but I guess I'll see him later,' Yukiko thought. She said her goodbyes to Momiji and Haru, taking her things and walking away from the high school towards home.

--

Yukiko looked up as she heard voices not too far from where she was sitting on the ground. She had walked away from the path to Shigure's house, and started to pick some flowers. Noticing Kyo and Tohru walk by, she started to get up to call out to them.

"Ky-," she started with her hand raised to draw their attention,but stopped when Tohru dropped her head onto Kyo's back.

"Uh, hey. What do you think you're doing? C'mon! It's just a retest! You don't have to be so depressed! Try not to stress out so much. You're just gonna end up giving yourself a fever again," Kyo said, with a red tint to his face. Yukiko slowly dropped her hand. Tohru started to fall towards the ground as Kyo shouted out. "Uh, hey!"

There was a poof of smoke as Tohru hit the ground. Gasping, Yukiko's eyes widened as the smoke disappeared, Kyo gone.

Yukiko turned and ran from the scene behind her, tears that were building up in her eyes started to block her vision.

Kyo... was a... cat.

--

Later that afternoon, Yukiko was sneaking back into the house and through the hallway when she saw Shigure holding the phone away from his ear. From the babbling on the other end, she could tell it was Momiji. She didn't stop to say anything though, as she hurried to her room. There was no way she could face Kyo anymore. He was a cat.

'A... cat. How could I not have seen that? Of all the animals... He didn't tell me. Haru knew I didn't like cats, and then Kyo kissed me. What do I do now?'

--

Meanwhile, Kyo walked to his room and opened his door. He paused and looked down the hallway towards Tohru's room. His eyes shifted quickly to Yukiko's door before he turned around and ran out of the house.

--

"Haru?" Yukiko's soft voice whispered quietly. She had snuck over to his house, remembering the same way to get there as he showed her. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to be there, so she was peeking in the window that she was sure opened to his room. Hearing footsteps, Yukiko ducked down a little in case it wasn't Haru in his room.

"Yukiko?" She looked up as she heard Haru calling out her name. She jumped up and reached out her arms for Haru to pull her into his room. Noticing her, Haru grabbed her hands and lifted her through his windown and set her on the floor. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just... Well, I needed to get away from the house for a while," Yukiko answered. She blushed and kicked her foot a little as she sat herself down on Haru's bed.

"What happened then?" Haru wondered as he sat next to her. She fidgeted with the hem of her skirt before looking up at Haru.

"You knew, right? Of course you would. Kyo... He's the cat," Yukiko stated. Haru's eyes widened for a split second, as his gaze shifted down to her side which he knew held a secret scar.

"Well, yes. I knew. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you, but that was his decision to make," he replied. Yukiko squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to erase the horrid image that appeared every time a cat was mentioned.

"I just wish I would have known before, you know? And then, he kissed me. Kissed by a cat," Yukiko made a face at the thought. Kissed by one cat, mutiliated by another.

"I know your opinions on cats must be pretty screwed up by now, but you know that the actions of one animal doesn't always mean the actions of another will be the same," Haru said. "Think about it for a while. You know what Kyo is like, before you even knew he was a cat. Why would anything be different now?"

Haru did make sense. Yukiko gave him a quick hug, a thanks, and then snuck back out his window.

'Nothing is different.'

--

"Fine!! I'll do it myself then!" Kyo screamed as he lifted the tray carrying the leek soup and walked towards the kitchen door. He kicked it out of his way, breaking it and continued upstairs.

"Kyo, try not to smash all the doors on your way! You're going to have to fix that!" Shigure yelled to the retreating Kyo. "Now, that really is cute, isn't it?"

"What's cute?"

Shigure turned at the question and saw Yukiko standing beside him staring at the smashed door in wonder.

"Oh, nothing. Kyo just made some leek soup for Tohru so she'll feel better," Shigure said. Yukiko scrunched up her face in disgust.

"Leek soup!? I thought Kyo didn't like leeks? And what happened to the door?" Yukiko questioned, as she pointed towards the remains on the floor.

"That's why it's cute," Shigure replied, humming to himself as he left Yukiko in the kitchen frowning.

--

"Just get better or I won't be happy. And, hey... even if it takes you a little while... I can... cook and stuff... for a while... So don't worry about it, okay?" Yukiko heard Kyo say. He was in Tohru's room while she ate the soup he made her. Yukiko was passing by to go to her room when she heard the conversation. She stopped and put her ear against the door, curious, as what Shigure said earlier flitted through her head. "But you're never gonna get better if you don't eat! So hurry up before it gets cold!"

"Uh... right," Tohru replied, and Yukiko heard a shuffling as Tohru continued eating. "It really is delicious..."

"No it's not... it's pretty awful... My cooking really sucks compared to yours," Kyo said, his voice strained. "So maybe you're more responsible than you think, huh?"

Yukiko turned and started walking towards her room with her head down. Hearing a door slide open and close behind her, she realized that Kyo had just exited Tohru's room.

"What are you doing?" Kyo asked. Yukiko slowly turned her head around and looked at him. His face had the faint traces of a blush on it. She turned her head around quickly and walked back to her room, not answering his question. Kyo stood there for a minute, confused before he went to his own room.

--

Yukiko tilted her head towards the door as she heard fighting downstairs. Yuki must have found out that Kyo used his planted leeks to make Tohru soup.

'Cats sure like to pick fights,' Yukiko thought, an odd look on her small face. She jerked up as she heard her father's voice. She almost went down to greet him, but soon after her father spoke, the voice of Kisa made her stop in her tracks. She shivered and walked back to her bed where she sat down again with one of her bears. Momiji was downstairs too, and out of breath. They were all worried about Tohru, and so was Yukiko. She didn't want to leave her room though, as another cat was in the house. Certainly Kyo was downstairs with them, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to see him. They still haven't spoken much to each other after the incident at the lake.

Soon she heard them all in Tohru's room checking up on her. Her father was obviously called to make sure Tohru wasn't too sick. She giggled slightly as she heard her father making fun of Shigure. Everyone eventually left Tohru's room except Kisa, but that didn't bother Yukiko since she wasn't going to see Tohru right now.

Putting her bear back on the bed, Yukiko left her room and walked downstairs where her father and Shigure were talking. She straightened her back and readied herself for what she wanted to say.

"So, Har'i, if I were you, I'd start thinking about what I'd like to eat once Tohru gets better," Shigure said. Hatori looked at him, confused. "I'm sure she'll want to cook you a special dinner, to say thank you."

Her father closed his eyes and smiled. Yukiko walked futher into the room and stood in front of the two men. They both looked up at her, Hatori standing up to get ready to go. She grabbed his sleeve to stop him.

"Hatori... no, I mean... D-dad..." she trailed off. Hatori's eyes widened as she said the word dad, looking down at her in shock. "C-can... Can I come live with you?" she stuttered slightly. Both Hatori and Shigure gasped, but turned as they heard the kitchen door slam open. Kyo stood there in the doorway, surprised.

"WHAT?!"

--

Once again, I'm sorry that it's taken so long for me to continue this, but I do hope that you liked this chapter. And I do hope that you'll continue reading as I post the rest of the story. I'll try my best to keep writing chapters more frequently. I wonder what's going to happen from now on. Yukiko wanting to move in with Hatori. Kyo surprised and, maybe angry, at the news. And there's only one more disc left of episodes, where the end will be. Stay tuned for the next chapter soon, and I promise that it will be soon.

Love, Jess (not archer anymore, Jess is my real name anyways)


	16. New Update

Updates:

2/23/13 Hey guys, it's Jess. It's been a very long time since I've last been on here or written anything other than essays and research papers. I got a review the other week that reminded me of what I had left here. I've decided to pick up where I left off on my stories. I absolutely adore Fruits Basket and would like to see this story complete. It may take just a bit for me to post a new chapter. I'm going to go back through my old chapters and review and possibly change some things. These chapters may end up being deleted, but I will post new ones as I change them. Thanks to those who have stuck with me this whole time, and I look forward to hearing from you in the form of reviews.

7/26/13 Hello again! I've updated the prologue and just now I updated the first chapter of this story. I really appreciate the reviews I've been getting lately and am very happy to hear that people still read my story and like it. I'll keep this update going to let you know when I post a new updated chapter or have any other news. I look forward to hearing what you think of the updated chapters so far. I'm going to get to work on the next chapter now. See you soon!

Love, Jess


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